Totally Knights: Blind Sided
by Kamen Rider Chrome
Summary: 2nd Totally Spies fic. Innocent people are losing their sight and becoming blind. What could be causing this? The Spies and Riders are sent to investigate. Crosses over with 6teen. AlexOCCaitlin from 6teen , SamOC, CloverOC...Emotions get in the way.
1. They're BACK?

**-Somewhere in Canada, 11:35 pm- **

A man sat on his couch watching TV after a hard day's work. Tonight, he just wanted to relax while watching on of his favorite shows on TV. His hand was holding the remote as his eyes were focused on the screen.

Suddenly, without notice, a blinding flash flared out of the screen.The man screamed as he shielded his face from the bright light. It was so unexpected that he got a full blast of it before he could properly cover his eyes.

The flash subsided, but it had already done its damage. The man pulled his hands away from his face and opened his eyes. He made a shocking discovery.

"I can't see!" the man wailed. "I CAN'T SEE!"

* * *

**-Spies' Villa, 8:45 am- **

Alex woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning. It had been a few days since the Autumn Ball but she remembered that night like it was yesterday. The reason was that she had danced with a genuinely kind and decent guy who also happened to know her secret.

She rolled over and picked up a framed photograph that had been taken that night. It was a picture of her and a certain red haired and green eyed fellow wearing formal attire. Her beautiful yellow dress and his red tinted tuxedo seemed to stand out but it was the nice kind of standing out.

Yawning, Alex got out of bed. She wanted to pick up the morning's newspaper since she loved reading the sports' section. She walked out of her room with a robe on before walking down the stairs towards the front door. She walked into the lawn to pick up the paper before bending down. When she got up she saw the door to the neighboring villa's house open. She decided to ignore it and turn back around towards the house.

"Alex-chan!" she heard someone call.

Alex froze, stunned by the voice. Only one person would call her 'Alex-chan', but he was long gone, right? He had gone back home, right? Steeling herself, she shut her eyes and turned, swallowing some saliva. She then opened her eyes and they widened. Her mouth opened with an audible gasp as she stared at who'd called her.

The young man was dressed in a red t-shirt with a white dragon on it and blue sweat pants. His red hair was in a tight braid and his green eyes were looking at her. His lips were also curled into a pleasant smile as he held the paper. He waved at her. "Ohayo!"

She knew that hair and those eyes. Heck, she knew only one person to ever greet her in Japanese! Heck, she knew only one person who liked anything that included dragons!

She did the one thing she could do. She squealed loudly, happily, before running back inside the villa.

The young man blinked in confusion and tilted his head to the side. "Ho?" He then shrugged before walking back inside the house.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Alex yelled as she yelled at Sam while shaking her. Sam was shocked by this and woke up instantly before Alex ran out of her room, leaving the frazzled redhead somewhat grumpy and confused.

"Alex!" Sam yelled. "Hey!"

"Wake up! Wake up!" Alex shouted at Clover who had on a beauty mask. The blonde girl was instantly awoken before Alex ran out of her room too to take a shower.

"Alex!" Clover yelled. "Ugh, you ruined my beauty sleep again!" However, Alex was long gone. Fuming, Clover wanted to get back to sleep but to know avail. Alex was obviously excited about something. Sighing, she reluctantly got out of bed and grabbed her towel. Maybe this could be important. She had wanted to sleep in a few extra hours, though.

* * *

Several minutes later…

The three girls were all cleaned up and dressed, standing in front of the villa across from their own. Alex was skipping happily in front of the door, leaving both her best friends perplexed by her behavior. She still had not told them what was going on and were worried a little.

"Alex, what's going on?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Clover folded her arms crossly, "What's the big deal of ruining my beauty sleep?"

Alex giggled and turned to them, "Girls, you are not gonna believe who moved in here!"

"Who?" Sam and Clover responded in unison.

Alex turned and held a finger over the doorbell. "Just watch." She then pressed the doorbell.

Sam and Clover could hear someone yelling, "Coming!" which sounded oddly familiar. The door then opened and both of them gasped.

"LEO!?" Clover and Sam shouted, shocked.

"Leo!" Alex shouted happily.

Standing there before them was a young red haired man with emerald green eyes. His hair was tied in a braid and right now he was wearing a blue Chinese shirt with black slacks. He had slippers on his feet and a smile on his face along with goggles on his head.

"Oh, ohayo, Sam-san, Clover-san," he smiled specially for Alex, "Alex-chan." The girl in question sighed happily.

The gears in Sam and Clover's heads began turning. If Leo was here, then that means…

"Ryuki-kun," someone spoke as he walked over, "Who's at the door?" Sam knew that voice all too well.

"Tazuka?" Sam said, uncertainty before the older boy walked up to the door, standing behind Ryuki.

"Oh, good morning, Sam," Tazuka greeted.

"What…how…?" Sam stuttered, blushing at the boy she liked.

"Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Tazuka offered, "Ryuki-kun here made pancakes."

"Please, come inside," Ryuki welcomed. "We'll explain everything."

The girl nodded and then Clover decided to ask, "Um…where's Takada?"

**BOOM!!**

Speak of the devil.

The girls were shocked by the sudden explosion as a window on the second floor opened up to allow smoke to come billowing out and upwards. Said owner of the name then poked his head out and saw them. He was covered in soot, though. "Oh, hey, girls!" he smiled, waving.

"Takada!" Clover smiled happily. He still looked good, even covered in soot.

"Takada!" Ryuki scolded. "Not so early in the morning!"

"Science waits for no man, Leo!" Takada called back. Ryuki frowned. He didn't want the villa ruined so soon. His mother had paid for it.

"Just get cleaned up," Tazuka said, shaking his head in disbelief of the mess that was up there now, "We have guests."

"Roger!" Takada saluted before retreating back through the window and then scrambling out his room towards the bathroom to get cleaned up.

"Please, do come in," Tazuka said politely to the girls

"Oh, and please take off your shoes and put on the house slippers," Ryuki instructed.

The three Spies did so excitedly. They had never expected to meet up with the three Riders again after their last mission together. They had really come to like the boys, strange powers and all. They had secretly hoped for a lasting relationship but had thought that impossible up until now.

With the indoor slippers on, Ryuki brought the girls to the dining room where the pancakes were already waiting. They were all stacked on a large plate in the centre of the table

"I always make extra, so please enjoy," Ryuki smiled invitingly.

"Sure will," Alex giggled excitedly. She was still in a fuzzy daze from having Ryuki back in her life so soon. Ryuki served them the pancakes. There was a bottle of maple syrup ready for them. No sooner had the food been served did the girls dig in with the two boys.

"So, when did you guys get here?" asked Sam curiously. "I mean, last time we saw each other was at the Autumn Ball."

"We never really left," Tazuka replied. "We were busy getting our things and other records finalized. Officially, we're on standby since Ichijyo had nothing new for us."

"So you're going to be staying here?" Sam asked with some hope in her voice.

"For the foreseeable future," Tazuka replied.

"Yay!" Alex cheered happily. She was instantly at Ryuki's side, hugging his arm and nuzzling his shoulder. "I really missed you, Leo."

"I missed you too, Alex-chan," Ryuki smiled happily. It felt really nice to be back with Alex.

Takada came downstairs, all cleaned up and properly dressed. When he saw the girls, he grinned, and then winked at Clover who just giggled at him before winking back. "Hey, girls, it's been awhile." He walked over and sat down at the dining table. "Pancakes! Yummy!"

"Who paid for this place?" Sam asked with deep interest. "Was it you guys?"

"Actually it was okaasan," Ryuki replied. "Ichijyo just chose the place for us to be close to you."

"Hey, even snakeface has good taste," Takada agreed.

"So, what were you doing in your room?" Clover asked Takada. "Was it another one of your inventions?"

"Just a few new gadgets in the making, made just for missions," Takada said. "I _am_ working in Research and Development."

Clover had been told by Takada that not only was he a field agent, but that he was also in research and development. It did make sense. He was a genius, despite the explosions. He may have the smarts, but he didn't look like a geek. A definite plus.

"I can show them to you girls if you want," Takada offered.

Sam said, "Maybe later." Tazuka had warned her that Takada's inventions did have a habit of backfiring. "So, why did you decide to stick around?" She really hoped it was because of them.

"Well," Tazuka folded his arms, "Ichijyo and Jerry believe that us working together can improve on relations between Smart Brain and WOOHP has going on right now. Since we already worked together, we were the ideal choice."

"There were others, mind you," Takada said. "But we were handpicked for this."

Ryuki added, "For some reason, he seemed really happy that we were staying here." He shrugged. "I don't know why."

"So, how long will you be staying?" Alex asked. She so wanted him to stay longer.

"About a month."

'_Yes!_' Alex cheered in her mind. There was so much she wanted to do with Ryuki.

* * *

On the other side of the world, in Tokyo, Japan, inside a very expensive apartment, sat Smart Brain Tokyo's very own CEO. He was sitting on an armchair and sipping his tea as he read the paper.

"Walter," said Ichijyo.

"Yes, sir?" Walter, his butler, replied. "Would you like more tea?"

"No," Ichijyo shook his head. "Do you hear that?"

Walter didn't seem to understand the question but answered truthfully, "No, I don't think I hear anything."

Ichijyo nodded, "Exactly." He explained, "No explosions, no yelling, nothing but total silence." He was happy that both Takada and Ryuki, his two biggest headaches, were gone for a whole month. He could actually relax and not worry about anymore collateral damage until they returned.

"Sir, you're not talking about Mr. Hasuma and Mr. Takada's departure, are you?" Walter asked.

"Who else would I be talking about?" Ichijyo remarked. "This is the first time I am able to enjoy a cup of tea in peace without having to worry that the two of them are going to blow something up or cause a fire."

"Sir, you do realize they are your friends."

Ichijyo sighed. "I do. Forgive me. It's just…I've been under a lot of pressure."

"Perfectly understandable, sir," Walter agreed. "And, believe me that you will grow to miss them."

Ichijyo scoffed. "Hardly."

"Absence does make the heart grow fonder, sir," Walter reminded. "More tea?"

"Thank you, Walter," Ichijyo smiled as Walter poured him some more tea. "Why don't you sit down and relax to enjoy some tea with me? You've been working the whole day. You deserve a break."

"That is very gracious of you, sir," Walter bowed before sitting down. "Ah…this is most comfortable."

"And, please, don't call me sir," Ichijyo said. "You're practically family."

"I'll try, sir," Walter smiled and Ichijyo chuckled in response.

* * *

"So what are you guys going to do now?" asked Alex. She really hoped they were free.

"Well," Tazuka shrugged. "We'll probably go to school and generally hang around. It isn't often we get to be normal."

"I totally get where you're coming from," Clover nodded. "Some days I could just kill for a good shopping trip."

"I do have a few experiments I was hoping to catch up on," Takada grinned. "I've been messing around with some physics and I think I'm close to a breakthrough."

"Are you using plutonium again?" Ryuki asked worriedly. "The last time you did we had a wormhole in your room and that plant thing got sucked through. It made a real mess before we managed to send it back."

"Hey, it was just a matter of suction," Takada frowned. "I've been fixing that. It won't happen the next time."

"Ichijyo forbade you from trying it again," Tazuka pointed out, "Ever."

"He's all the way back in Japan," Takada shrugged. "As long as nothing explodes then how's he going to know?"

"But something _always_ explodes when you perform one of your experiments," Ryuki retorted. "Please, try to keep it small."

"Oh, fine," Takada sighed. "So, it's Saturday, what do you guys wanna do?"

"We could hang out at the mall," Clover suggested.

"Doesn't that Mandy chick hang out there?" Takada shuddered. That horrible voice was still giving him nightmares.

"Hey, the mall's my turf! I can out maneuver Mandy any day," Clover said confidently.

"Well…" Ryuki began, "I was thinking of using this day to do some training and practice my techniques."

"That reminds me," Alex said. "You told me you could teach me some of your moves. That was a promise, right?"

"Hai," Ryuki nodded. "It was." Ryuki did want to spend time with Alex. It was probably his most favorite part of being here in Beverly Hills. "You can come up to my room if you want."

"Got any plans, Tazuka?" Sam asked the clairvoyant Rider.

"Well…" Tazuka rubbed his chin. "I was going to set up a fortune telling booth somewhere in the park to see if people would want to get their fortunes told."

"I bet you'd get a lot of business," said Sam. Tazuka was pretty attractive, in a mysterious kind of way with his deep black eyes, so there was no doubt in her mind that he would get business.

"Well, maybe I'll join Clover at the mall too," Takada said. "Need to update my wardrobe."

"Didn't you already do that?" Ryuki asked, quirking an eyebrow. Takada wagged a finger.

"Your mom's a fashion designer and well you know me," Takada tugged the lapels of his jacket, "I need to look good. I need to have the look to match my brains." He didn't mean to look like a geek, just look as good as he was smart.

"Sweet!" Clover grinned as she grabbed Takada's hand. "Come on, I'll drive you there!"

"I think we should take _my_ car," Takada said. Clover froze.

"Your…car?" she asked.

"I told you I was tricking out my car," Takada said. "It's in the garage. Come on." Both teens then headed out towards the garage.

* * *

Ryuki led Alex upstairs where his room was located. She felt a little excited that she was going to see his room. Still, he was probably not going to try anything she wouldn't like. He was too much of a gentleman for that.

It was rather big and Alex found herself a little envious of the extra space. The floor was made up of the tatami boards she had seen when they had gone to Japan. Over in the corner she saw a shining drum set which looked ready to use. There was a folding desk and a futon which were being kept in an open closet with all of Ryuki's clothes. There was also a full length dressing mirror set in another corner.

Alex took notice of the pictures which were being hung on the walls. Lots of them were portraits with Ryuki and his friends in them. She recognized Takada, Ichijyo, Tazuka, and Emiko in them. There was also a picture of a girl that Ryuki had told her was his sister. One of the bigger ones had the four boys and a group of schoolgirls with them. One with short blue hair, two blondes, a tall brunette, a younger girl with pink hair, another girl with short purple hair, and a raven-haired girl.

"You sure know a lot of people," Alex blinked at all the pictures.

"Hai," Ryuki smiled as he admired them. "I've met a lot of friends as I helped people as one of the Masked Riders and in some odd situations."

Alex then noticed another picture. This one had been taken at a mall and she could see Ryuki with three boys and three girls. Ryuki was standing next to a blonde girl with his arm around her shoulder. Ryuki knew what she would ask and frowned.

"Is this her?" Alex asked. Ryuki nodded.

"Hai, that's Caitlin," Ryuki answered. He added, "She was my girlfriend before I met you. The one I had to make forget about me."

"She got too close to the truth, huh?" Alex asked. It was an occupational hazard she very well understood.

"Hai," Ryuki said. "She deserves a normal life and if she stayed around me that wouldn't be possible. Therefore, I had to erase her memories."

"Oh…Leo…" Alex said, sympathetically.

"However," Ryuki said. "I do keep in touch with her."

"Huh?" Alex was confused.

"I send anonymous emails to her to see how she is doing. I also send emails to the others, posing as an anonymous pen-pal. I get news about them once in a while to see if they're okay. Despite them not remembering me anymore, they are still my friends." He then smiled at her. "So, where shall we begin with our training?"

* * *

"Come on, Clover," Takada grinned as he brought the blonde to the garage. "You're going to love this."

Both teens entered the garage where a car was parked. It was a shining sleek blue cadillac convertible with the roof down that was reflecting the lights. It had a dog hood ornament attached on the front of the hood, standing tall and proud like the owner.

"Oh my gosh!" Clover cried. "Did you build this, Takada?"

"A little bit," Takada grinned. "It's a custom job. I got this baby cheap and went on from there. I even got a name for it."

"Oh yeah?" Clover smirked. "Boys and their toys, I suppose."

"Hey, me and the Blue Hound go way back," Takada laughed. "I got this baby before I even got my license. It was going to be my perfect ride."

"And how perfect is it?" asked Clover.

"Well," Takada sighed. "As soon as I get a hot girl inside, I think it will be; preferably a blonde with a talent for shopping." He then teased her, "Wonder where I can find one?"

"Well you're in luck," Clover smiled as she sauntered over to the custom vehicle. "I happen to know where one is."

"Sounds good to me," Takada smiled. He opened the door for her, "Well, hop on in. Let me take you for a ride."

Clover grinned as she got in and strapped herself inside before the Dog Rider closed the door for her. He then went over to the driver's side and hopped over the door before settling in front of the wheel. He strapped himself in and then winked at Clover. Clover smiled back at him before kissing his cheek.

"First stop, the mall!" Takada grinned before he twisted the key. The engine made a loud growling noise, pleasing its owner before he stepped on the gas. The car then rolled out of the garage and onto the street before taking off swiftly.

"This is the best day of my life!!" Clover exclaimed.

* * *

Tazuka watched as Takada drove his car with Clover sitting next to him. He just smiled as he shook his head. Takada sure knew how to treat a girl. With Ryuki alone with Alex in his room, it only left him with Sam.

"So, want to check out my room?" Tazuka asked.

"Sure, why not?" Sam shrugged though she felt slightly giddy on the inside.

"All right then," Tazuka nodded. "Follow me."

Tazuka calmly walked to the stairs with Sam nervously. She hadn't really been in a guy's room. All of a sudden, she was going to be in Tazuka's room. The thought alone got her excited. They went up the stairs towards the bedrooms.

They passed by Ryuki's room, which was marked by the dragon emblem on the door and could hear Alex and Ryuki yelling inside. They weren't arguing, but it sounded like fighting was going on inside. Sam did not have to worry, however, since she knew Ryuki would never do anything to purposely harm Alex. Maybe they were just showing each other their moves.

Sam and Tazuka then passed a room where the door was open. It was obviously Takada's since it had his dog emblem marking the door. She took a quick peek and gasped at all the scientific equipment that filled up the room. The computer was the heart of everything and she could see a work bench with tools and parts littering it. Decorating his walls like posters were schematics and blueprints for gadgets. There was also a large mirror in the room.

They soon reached Tazuka's room, which was marked with the emblem for Pisces on the door, before he opened the door and let Sam enter.

It was a very clean and neat room. There was a large bookcase which had several books concerning astrology and fortune-telling. There were actual crystal balls being used as bookends. A lone mirror hung next to the door, and Sam couldn't help but feel some apprehension when she looked at it. He had a regular bed and to her delight, there were a keyboard, a saxophone, a violin case, and a guitar case being kept in his closet. She secretly hoped that he might play something for her.

"What do you think?" Tazuka asked.

"I think it's nice," Sam smiled. Her eyes were trained on the musical instruments. "You play more than just the piano?"

"Yes," Tazuka nodded. "It's one of my passions, that along with fortune telling."

"I see," Sam nodded. Well, it was time to ask the million dollar question. "Do you…think I can…hear something?"

"I'd be happy to play something for you," Tazuka nodded. "Anything in particular?"

"Surprise me?" Sam asked teasingly.

"But of course," Tazuka said as he walked over to the closet and picked up the saxophone. "Here's something special you might enjoy." He placed the mouthpiece of the instrument to his lips and blew, playing a sweet melody.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex and Ryuki were working up a sweat in a totally non-sexual way as they sparred. Ryuki blocked a punched to his face with his forearm before retaliating with a spear strike to her neck. She managed to lean backwards and flip on her hands before flipping back a distance away. Ryuki smiled.

"You're really good," Ryuki complimented the girl.

"Well, when you go around the world fighting baddies, you have to be," Alex smiled, accepting the praise. "You're not so bad yourself."

"When you've been training from age 4 you get results," Ryuki winked. He then dashed forwards at her. She threw a right hook but he ducked down to his knees before sweeping her off her feet with a spinning sweep kick. She ended up on her back before Ryuki got on top of her and pinned her down. "1, 2, 3; I win," Ryuki said as he looked deeply into her eyes. Alex was gazing at his emerald eyes too, breathing hard with a flushed face. They were so close to each other right now and it was driving her nuts. He then said, "Now, to claim my prize." He leaned down and stole a quick kiss from her. "Tasty," he grinned, licking his lips.

OK, we all know Ryuki's actually pretty naïve and clueless about how to engage women. But, remember that he has a demon in him so there is a good chance that small parts of said demon's personality would often leak through and project themselves onto the host's own behavior, as you can see now. It's still Ryuki, he's just acting a bit like Yaminekoryu but with more restraint since the demon would most likely tear off her clothes as he ravages her.

"Actually, I win," Alex winked before she threw Ryuki over her head and he dropped down on his back. She then quickly straddled his waist and pinned down his hands while smiling mischievously, "And I like my prize." She then leaned downwards and kissed him hard on the lips. He kissed her back. She soon let go of his hands as she ran her palms up and down his chest as he held her hips.

At that time, his SB-Watch beeped.

* * *

Both Takada and Clover had arrived at the mall and in record time too, just in time to see Mandy and to rub it in her face that she was the one in a hot car, with a hot guy, and not her nemesis. Mandy screamed in rage and ran into the mall to hide her humiliating defeat.

"Man, that's awesome!" Clover smiled as she hopped out of the car. Takada was picking his ear.

"Can that girl scream ANY louder?" Takada grumbled.

"Forget Mandy," Clover wrapped her arms around Takada's neck, "Let's spend the entire day together, shopping."

"Sounds good," Takada said, "I've been meaning to update my wardrobe."

Both of them were about to enter when Takada's SB-Watch beeped. He let out a disgruntled, "Damn," before muttering, "and Scaleface ruins my day yet again."

Time to report in.

* * *

As Sam sat on the bed, enjoying Tazuka's solo-sax performance, the melody was interrupted by a loud beep coming from Tazuka's SB-Watch. The redhead groaned in disappointment but noted the serious look on his face.

"Ichijyo's calling," Tazuka said as he put down the saxophone. "Let's go."

Sam got up and asked, "So, how will we get there?"

Tazuka smiled and took out his Pisces deck. "You'll see." He then held it out in front of the mirror. The belt formed around his waist as he called, "Henshin!" before snapping on the deck and calling forth, "Zodiac Force! Pisces!" In a flash of light, the glass shards and water surrounded his body before combining together to form his armor. He then graciously extended a hand towards Sam. "Come with me, Sam?"

"Sure," Sam nodded as she took his armored hand in hers. He then led her towards the mirror. She could see the surface rippling before Jawz stepped into it, his leg disappearing inside. Sam took a look and gulped. This went beyond what she herself knew and understood as being logical but she was also curious to see what this Mirror World looked like. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and took the plunge.

She found herself in the most beautiful place her teenage eyes had ever seen. It was a tunnel, completely made of crystal and glass. "Wow…" she breathed out. She then saw Jawz entering a hi-tech looking vehicle resembling a pod-bike of some sort.

"Come on, Sam," Jawz invited. Sam nodded and walked over before sitting in his lap. The Knigtrider only had space for one so she had to do what she had to do. She wasn't complaining though as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The canopy dropped down slowly before the vehicle shot ahead like a rocket.

* * *

Ryuki stood in front of the mirror and held his Dragon deck in front of him, staring at the mirror. Alex watched in great interest.

The belt wrapped around his waist as he commanded, "Henshin!" before snapping on the deck and shouting, "Zodiac Force! Dragon!" Alex watched in amazement as glass shards and flames collected onto his body to become his armor, thus transforming him into Zodiac Knight Draco. He cracked his neck a bit and headed towards the mirror before the surface rippled, allowing him to enter. He was about halfway in when he extended a hand towards Alex.

"Would you like to come with me?" Draco asked. Alex looked at the mirror a little pensively. This whole thing about a 'Mirror World' still seemed strange to her. "Trust me," he said. Those words finally put her fears at ease as she grabbed his hand and he pulled her in.

Going through the mirror felt slightly like walking through water before she arrived in a place so alien yet beautiful to her.

"Wow…" Alex said as she gazed all around. Her eyes then fell upon a capsule shaped vehicle with two wheels, colored red, with the top canopy up. "What is that?"

"My Knightrider," he said, sitting down. "Come on." Alex then sat down in his lap and slung her arms around his neck before the canopy pulled down. He gripped the handles as he said to her, "Hold on." He then shot forwards through the tunnel like a rocket.

* * *

Takada made sure no one was watching as he held his Dog deck out at the side view mirror of his car. He then grinned at Clover, "Now, it's your turn to see how we get to HQ."

His belt materialized around his waist.

"Henshin!" Takada called before snapping the deck on. "Zodiac Force! Dog!" The glass shards and wind encased his body in a flash of light before he was seen, standing tall in his armor. He then took Clover's hand, "Come on, Clover, let me give you a ride you won't believe!"

"Hey!" Clover yelped before she was being pulled into the mirror, vanishing in a flash.

They came out in the Mirror Tunnel, and Clover gasped as she saw the sparkling glass everywhere.

"Wow," she gasped. "This is beautiful."

"Well," Pluto snickered as he walked towards his Knightrider. "Care for another ride?" he offered

Clover saw the ride in question and quickly realized that it only properly seated one. A grin started appearing on her face when she realized what that meant.

"Let's go!" she cheered. She ran over as Pluto sat down before jumping into his lap. Pluto grinned as the canopy slowly came down before revving the engines, gripping the handles. Clover had her arms tightly around Pluto's neck before the Knigtrider sped down the tunnel at breakneck speed.

* * *

The Mirror Tunnel: A place which appears to be a tunnel of crystal and glass. It looks like a beautiful place where light reflects almost everywhere. Even with low light, the tunnel lights up in sparkles.

This place also served as the entrance to the Mirror World along with a connection to the other mirrors in the world. Many Zodiac Knights often used it to travel without the hassle of airports or borders.

The Mirror Tunnel was playing host to three Knightriders. They sped along at high speeds which made them look like blurs of red, dark blue, and navy blue. The three Knightriders also seemed a little fuller than they usually were.

The three Knightriders continued moving at high velocities, driving through continents as they went. Before too long, the three vehicles made a sharp turn before moving through one of the countless reflective surfaces that lined the tunnel.

* * *

**-Japan, Smart Brain ****Tokyo HQ, 9:45 pm-**

The three Knightriders flew through a window which were placed in all around the Smart Brain building. As the three vehicles came to a halt, the canopies opened to reveal the occupants.

"Woah," Sam mumbled as she got off of Jawz and on her feet. "Now that was what I call a trip."

"That was so cool!" Alex squealed as she got up from Draco's Knightrider. She turned to the red clad Knight. "You guys go through there all the time?"

"I think I'm queasy," Clover groaned as she stumbled away from Pluto. "I think I'll just take a plane back."

"You brought your girlfriends," a new voice spoke. "Saves me the time of calling Jerry to get them." Alex blushed a bit at being acknowledged as Ryuki's girlfriend. She actually thought about it a few times and it felt… nice.

The Knights and Spies turned to see who was talking and found their eyes landing on Ichijyo Desmond Amakusa walking out of the building. He didn't look too happy. Then again his moment of peace had been interrupted. He never expected to see his three operatives this soon.

"You!" Clover cried as she glared at Ichijyo angrily.

"Yes, me," Ichijyo chuckled in amusement. "How's the hair? It looked pretty gummed up last we met."

"Darn right it was!" Clover hissed. "You're lucky it came out like you said or I would have kicked your butt!"

"I'm sure," Ichijyo shrugged.

"What do you want, Scaleface?" Pluto asked irritably "I was on a date with Clover when you butted in."

"Hey, blame the villains, not me," Ichijyo shrugged.

"Some days I wonder," Pluto sighed.

"So, what's going on, Ichijyo?" Draco asked.

"Power down first," Ichijyo commanded and the Riders did, allowing their suits of armor to shatter like glass and vanish. "Alright, are you all ready?"

"Ready for what?" asked Sam. She then noticed that their shadows were expanding. "What's going on!?" she nearly yelled.

"I suggest bracing yourselves," Tazuka said. "He's going to do _it_ again."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. All of a sudden, they were engulfed in a black dome before vanishing.

The dome reappeared in Ichijyo's office before dispersing itself, revealing all 7 of them inside. Ichijyo walked towards his desk and calmly sat down while the Spies shivered in discomfort.

* * *

"That was way creepy," Alex shuddered.

"Like, totally," Clover agreed, holding herself.

"That's your power?" Sam asked as Ichijyo demonstrated by summoning a small shadow ball.

"I'm a shadow manipulator," Ichijyo replied. "Well, now that we're all here, it's time to get to business." He snapped his fingers and the room darkened. A holographic screen appeared as Ichijyo explained. "Over the past few days, people have been going blind for no good reason."

"Blind?" Ryuki asked as he stared at the various victims. "Kami…"

"Exactly," Ichijyo nodded.

"But how?" Takada asked.

"That's what I want you all to find out," Ichijyo said. He then pulled up a photo. "I want you to interview this person to know what happened to him before he became blind." The picture appeared and Ryuki gasped. Ichijyo and Tazuka knew why.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked.

"That's Ron, the Rent-A-Cop," Ryuki answered.

"Rent-A-Cop?" Alex asked. Tazuka frowned.

"He's a security guard in the Galleria Mall," Tazuka said as he glared at Ichijyo. Why was he doing this? Hadn't Ryuki suffered enough? He didn't need to remember something so painful.

Ryuki felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He had just gotten over Caitlin and now it looked like he was going to have to face her again. "Ano…when do we leave?" he asked.

"About an hour or two," Ichijyo answered.

"I'll go get ready then," Ryuki nodded before he left the office. Alex watched him worriedly before she followed him.

Takada noticed that Tazuka was giving Ichijyo one of his patented silent glares and decided that it was time to leave before someone exploded.

"C'mon girls," Takada quickly spoke. "I'll show you some of the gadgets we have around here." He quickly grabbed both Sam and Clover's hands before heading out of the office. They were giving some slight protests, but even they could feel that someone was getting emotional.

Ichijyo looked at the glaring Tazuka and decided that it was time for a small discussion. "I'm listening," the young CEO spoke tonelessly.

"Good, because I feel like talking," Tazuka frowned as he stepped up to Ichijyo. "Now why do you feel it fit to send Ryuki back to Canada already? You of all people should know what happened there."

"I do," Ichijyo nodded.

"Then why couldn't you send us to talk to someone else who was affected?" Tazuka pressed. "Why did it have to be Ron?"

"Because Ron was the only one who didn't have to be tied down for his own protection," Ichijyo answered. "All the others were on the verge of suicide."

"Then why send Ryuki along?" Tazuka asked irritably. "Couldn't you just send us there without him?"

"Because he is one of our best," Ichijyo answered. "Besides, he has to get over it sometime."

"He isn't you, Ichijyo!" Tazuka snapped. "He can't bury his heart like you can! He certainly can't kill his emotions like you have so successfully done either!" Tazuka added, "He wears his heart on his sleeve. He's different from you. To be honest, I sometimes find myself wondering if you even have a heart."

"Emotions just get in the way of things," Ichijyo reasoned. "Besides, the sooner he finds closure, the better."

"Really?" Tazuka retorted cleverly, "So why haven't you told them the truth about Misha then? Since you've already gotten over her it would be so easy." Ichijyo hissed as he stood up.

"Don't you _ever_ mention that name again," Ichijyo warned. He pointed to the door "Now, get out of my office. You have a mission to get to." Tazuka turned around and walked away angrily out of the office to find Ryuki. When he was gone, Ichijyo reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a photograph, gazing at it just for a second before sighing. Tazuka sure knew how to make a point. "Sometimes…I just hate this job."

* * *

I'd like to thank Ten Faced Paladin for his help with this. R&R, ok?


	2. The Tour

Ryuki was currently in the gym, lifting some weights and working out. He just didn't want to become too focuses on the mission just yet. He hadn't really been to Canada for awhile since that day when he had his secret discovered and he had to erase the gang's memories of him. It just hurt to know that nobody remembered him ever being there.

He got up and grabbed the towel from a hand. "Arigatou," he muttered as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Are you okay, Leo?" Alex asked. She'd been the one to give him the towel. He smiled at her.

"I'm fine, why shouldn't I?" Ryuki asked. She maybe naïve, but she could still see he was a little upset.

"Well, this mission is gonna bring you back to see them," Alex said, referring to the gang back in Canada.

"We'll only interview Ron and then we'll leave," he said, facing away from her. "Don't worry about it."

"But, you know, if you wanna see them and all…" she said nervously. She then felt him kiss her forehead.

"It's okay. I'm fine. Daijoubu," he smiled at her. She blushed a bit. "We'll be going on a mission soon so I need to take a shower. See you in a few minutes." He headed towards the shower room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Takada was giving both Sam and Clover a tour of the R&D lab where various technicians and engineers were busy designing and testing out new gadgets. They were standing on a conveyer belt in a hallway as they passed between several windows that were showing them what was going on in them.

"And here you can see them testing out the new Sonic Boom-Box," Takada showed as a technician aimed a seemingly harmless looking radio at a brick wall before he and his assistants put on some earmuffs. He then activated it and the radio released a sonic blast that caused the wall to crumble. "Now that's pretty good. Next, you'll see the new Knuckle Duster Cameras." The girls could see several people holding what looked like digital cameras before a handle popped out of them and then they strapped them on. One of them then swung a fist with a camera strapped on and annihilated a target. "You see, we disguise our gadgets as normal everyday items. Now, none of these things are for the open market. These are weapons we use on our missions." Takada then pointed towards several technicians testing out a new combat droid which was going berserk. "Oh, man, not again." Takada stepped off the belt and opened a door into the room. "Excuse me, ladies." He went into the soundproof room and confronted the robot before getting the crud beaten out of him. Sam and Clover winced and flinched as Takada was getting clobbered before he finally found the switch. He then walked out, seemingly fine. "I hate it when that happens."

The two girls were understandably surprised at what they had just witnessed. The robot had been punching with enough force to break bones, if not kill. Takada had just taken those blows almost like they were nothing before he managed to shut it down.

"You know," Clover spoke up. "I keep forgetting that he's invincible."

"You and me both," Sam nodded.

Takada walked over to the girls and rubbed his ribs and fixing his hair. Despite being invincible, the boy genius could still feel pain. Every time he got hit with something, he still felt it. It gave him a high pain threshold, but no one would see him willingly put himself in pain unless it was in an experiment or he thought the results would be really cool.

"Now, where were we?" Takada asked the girls.

"Um, you were giving us the tour?" asked Sam uncertainly.

"Oh yeah!" Takada grinned. "You two have got to meet Prof. Murata."

"Who's that?" asked Clover.

"My mentor," Takada answered with his grin growing even bigger. "She taught me everything I know."

Both girls felt a shiver run down their spines. Someone that Takada looked up to in the realm of science. Either she was a real genius, or she was an even madder scientist than he was.

* * *

Ryuki heaved a sigh as he dried his hair while stepping out of the boys' locker room. He needed the shower to help calm his nerves. The memories of Canada were still fresh and he really needed some space.

"Hey," came a familiar voice from beside the door.

Ryuki turned around and saw Alex leaning on the wall. Her face was solemn and patient. Ryuki personally didn't think that it fitted the bright and cheery girl.

"Hi, Alex-chan," Ryuki smiled weakly.

"Now do you feel like talking?" Alex asked. "I can get your hair tied back while you do."

Ryuki reached to his wet hair which he left untied. Alex sure picked a good excuse to get him to hold still. He wanted to say no, but Yaminekoryu was whispering to him again.

'_Don't push her away, Aibou,_' the demon warned. '_She's only trying to help. If you want her to leave you alone then lay her worries to rest._'

Ryuki sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. Alex stood behind him and began to tie his hair back into a braid. He enjoyed the soft feeling of her hands running through his hair.

"So, where do we begin?" she asked.

"Well…to be honest, the beginning," Ryuki said. "Tazuka-niisan and I were on an important mission. We were sent to Canada, undercover, to investigate in a mall."

"What were you investigating?" Alex asked. Ryuki had to keep some parts of the mission a secret so he had to lie. Unfortunately, he was a pretty bad liar…except when he had his demon's help. He tapped into Yaminekoryu and continued the story.

"An enemy of ours, Asakura, was sighted around the area and we had to find him," Ryuki explained. "Asakura is a murderous evil psychopath who takes pleasure in the pain of others. Also, he has the power to turn into sand and create sand storms."

"No way," Alex gasped.

"Yes way," Ryuki said. "We were sent to catch him. Unfortunately, he also has a suit of armor like ours."

"You mean there are more?" Alex asked.

"Lots more," Ryuki said. "I don't know where he got it but maybe it was made by the same people who made ours." He was feeling really crappy from having to make this all up. Sure he wasn't exactly lying and sure some parts were true but he wasn't telling her the true reason for the mission which was to close off the portal in the area. "Anyway, while I was there, I met Caitlin and in turn met her friends. We became very close." It hurt to remember. "We hung out together and I even got a job at a bookstore."

"Then what else happened?" Alex asked, getting interested.

"A lot," Ryuki chuckled, "Let me tell you about this one time Jude…"

He began to talk freely, finding it easier to talk about the friends he'd left behind. Both he and Alex laughed at some of their misadventures and even Ryuki was feeling a little lighter inside.

"Finally, Asakura captured them and had me choose one person to die in their place," Ryuki said.

"That's horrible!" Alex responded.

"I chose myself, and nearly got killed," Ryuki frowned. "Luckily, Ichijyo and Tazuka-niisan arrived just in time. Unfortunately, Asakura got away."

"You'll get him, Leo," Alex smiled, placing a hand to his shoulder. "Someday."

"Arigatou."

Alex finished one last twist in his braid before taking his hair tie to secure the braid.

"There," she smiled. She reached up and let her hands rest on his shoulders. "Now lean back a little."

"Nani?" Ryuki blinked.

"I'm going to be your shoulder to lean on," Alex explained. "So just do it."

Ryuki obeyed and he found his head planted in Alex' lap as she stroked his hair. She could tell that he was feeling some remorse and sadness about what had happened. Well, she wasn't going to sit by and let him feel that pain.

"You still miss them?" she asked.

"Yes," Ryuki nodded. "I miss them very much. Even though it was for the best, I still hurt from it."

"We're only human, Leo," Alex whispered as she continued to stroke his hair. "It's normal to feel that. Just remember that they are all safe and happy because of you too."

"Hmm," Ryuki sighed as he closed his eyes. "You have a point with that." He started to purr from her stroking his hair.

Over at the entrance of the gym, one could almost see Tazuka observing the two. He had been worried that Ryuki would begin reverting to his sadness from just after the Canada mission. Thankfully, Alex seemed to have the situation in hand. Now he had one more reason to be thankful for her and her friends.

* * *

"Sensei!" Takada greeted as he approached an elderly brunette lady wearing a lab coat, glasses and had her hair in a ponytail. She looked to be in her late 30's to early 40's and seemed to be in charge of the lab.

"Oh, Takada-kun!" Prof. Murata greeted as she hugged her student. "How have you been?"

"Well, been going on a few more missions and stuff like that," Takada said nonchalantly. "I saw all the new gear. Really great."

"Oh, it's all thanks to you for letting us study that armor and your powers," Prof. Murata laughed and then noticed Sam and Clover. "Oh, who are your friends?"

"These are Sam and Clover, agents of WOOHP," Takada introduced.

"Hi," the two girls greeted. Prof. Murata looked sane enough, but looks could be deceiving in the mad science business.

"Oh, I've heard so much about WOOHP!" Prof. Murata said. "I heard that all your gadgets are top notch!"

"Well, that's Jerry's department," Sam admitted.

"We just use them on the field," Clover added. Takada had told her that he looked up to Prof. Murata like a mother. Strange…he never mentioned his real mother.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Prof. Murata said, "Come with me, I want to show you the upgrades we did in the simulation room."

"Simulation room?" Clover asked as she followed with Sam and Takada.

"A training chamber where we put our operatives to prepare them for future scenarios on the field. Anything is possible in this line of work so it's better to be prepared than dead," Takada spoke up.

"Shouldn't it be 'better safe than sorry'?" Sam corrected.

Both Takada and Murata shared a laugh.

"Hey, in this line of work, it's never safe," Prof. Murata said. "And the only time you're sorry is when you're dead."

Clover and Sam blinked.

"I trust you're enjoying the tour," Ichijyo spoke from behind the two Spies, causing them to jump in surprise.

"Geez, don't sneak up on people! Clover yelled as she placed a hand to her chest. She had been spooked.

"I'm just very used to being sneaky," Ichijyo shrugged. "Now, you all should be ready to go to Canada. You all leave to interview Ron." He held up a briefcase, "Jerry sent me these gadgets for you girls. He says that they'll come in handy." Sam took the case into her hand before Ichijyo turned away. "You'll be flying on one of our stealth jets. They're fast and undetectable by radar."

"And-" Takada began before he was interrupted.

"You're not piloting it!" Ichijyo cut him off. "Tazuka is."

"Aw, crud!" Takada crossed his arms and frowned. "Is this because I nearly blew up your office the last time?"

"Among other things," Ichijyo responded without turning around. "Now, get to it!"

* * *

The stealth jet itself looked like it was made for just that; stealth. It was smooth and sleek. The only way you could tell that it was a part of Smart Brain was the logo painted on the side.

"You guys sure know how to pick planes," Clover admired from the runway.

The girls were in their usual spy outfits. The boys were also in their Rider uniforms. They had a long way to go before. They would be in Canada. They would also have to worry about the time change so a hotel had been prepared for them on their arrival.

"We pride ourselves on that," Takada nodded. He was still sulking a little about being unable to pilot the machine.

"I didn't know you could fly an airplane, Tazuka," Sam spoke up next to the older boy.

"No one asked," Tazuka shrugged. "Besides, it's not that impressive anyway."

"Says you," Sam smiled.

Ryuki and Alex had their things ready and the tanned girl was holding him by the arm. He was doing noticeable better than before, but he didn't want to be by himself just yet.

"So, Leo," began Takada. "Anything we should know about this Rent-A-Cop guy?"

"Ano," Ryuki frowned. "Well, he doesn't like teenagers very much. He calls them maggots a lot."

"I never really met the man myself," Tazuka added. "He did seem to have military background from the way he was talking when I heard him."

"Just expect him to call you 'maggots' a lot, but don't take it too personally," Ryuki said. "He calls everyone under the age of 20 'maggots'."

"Won't that be nice," Sam said sarcastically.

The 6 agents then boarded the jet. Tazuka went to the pilot seat and checked all the gauges.

"Alright, fuel tanks are full, batteries are fully charged, stealth generators at maximum proficiency, radars and sensors are good, and engines are ready to go," Tazuka said.

"No bugs in the systems either," Takada said. He was an engineer and he did help build this jet. Unfortunately, he wanted to fly it too. "OK, strap yourselves in. We're ready to take off!"

All other staff cleared away as the take off sequence was being initiated. The stealth-jet then, without warning, shot forward before it took off into the air, the wheels folding inside the vehicle at the last second.

The agents were being pressed against their seats at the time. Man, the jet was fast!

"He's going too slow!" Takada managed to cry out. "We haven't even broken the sound barrier!"

"_I don't need to break the sound barrier, Takada,_" Tazuka's voice rang from the intercom. "_I don't feel the need to test the limits of every machine I get my hands on._"

"Sure," Takada frowned as he crossed his arms. "Be boring."

Clover giggled. Takada could be cute when he was pouting.

"_We're reaching normal speeds now_," Tazuka reported. "_I'm putting it on auto-pilot._" He then unbuckled his seatbelt and walked over to the others. "That intercom wasn't exactly necessary," Tazuka said.

"It is if you're planning to break the sound barrier," Takada replied.

"You do remember the last time you attempted to break the sound barrier, right?" Tazuka reminded. "There was a lot glass to clean up that day."

The girls turned towards Ryuki for an explanation. Ryuki said, "Takada tried to break the sound barrier but he broke a lot of windows too along with it. It took weeks to clean up all that glass."

"Wow," Alex said, amazed, "You guys sure don't have boring lives."

"Well, when you're secret agents, life is never dull," Takada grinned. "I mean, we get to go on missions to exotic locations, fight villains and meet hot girls." He winked at Clover who giggled. Tazuka rolled his eyes.

"We also help maintain the peace, Takada," Tazuka reminded, "That is the most important."

"Right, that too," Takada agreed. "But it doesn't hurt to meet hot girls."

"Oh, brother…" Tazuka groaned.

"So, why do you guys, like, work for that jerk anyway?" Clover asked, referring to Ichijyo.

"Clover, you're only mad because he nearly ruined your hair," Sam said.

"Well, this style does not come cheap," Clover pointed out.

"Still, why do you work for Ichijyo?" Sam voiced out Clover's question. "He doesn't seem like a very nice person."

"Well, you don't know him like we do," Ryuki said. "He's more than he seems."

"Definitely," Takada agreed. Ryuki grumbled. "What?"

"We're not talking about the time you followed him for a whole week to prove he was a vampire," Ryuki said.

"Hey, the evidence would've proved he wasn't," Takada said.

"Vampire?" Sam asked. "But everyone knows vampires don't exist."

"We've seen a lot of weird things, so vampires aren't exactly something too unbelievable anymore," Tazuka said.

"Makes sense, I guess," Clover shrugged.

"Anyway, Ichijyo is actually very kind, though he doesn't show it. He actually means well. Why do you think he's the head of Smart Brain Tokyo? Why do you think he sends operatives all over the world to help?" Ryuki said. The girls stop to think. "I know, deep down, he cares for others."

Takada shook his head. Ryuki was still awfully naïve but some of his words did hold some truth.

"So, he's a nice guy?" Sam asked.

"A nice guy wouldn't try to ruin my hair!" Clover complained.

"Oh, can't you shut up about the hair, Clover?"

"I know," Alex said. "Why don't we hook him up?"

The Riders blinked.

"Hook Scaleface up with a girl?" Takada asked before bursting with laughter. "Yeah, right!"

"Why not?" Alex asked.

"Ichijyo is…not exactly a very sociable person," Ryuki said. "He's attractive, but he doesn't care for girls."

"Is he gay?" Clover asked. Takada laughed louder.

"Oh, man! That's a good one!" Takada laughed. Tazuka slapped him upside the head. "Hey!"

"Can you please stop laughing?" Tazuka threatened. "Anyway, Ichijyo's too busy for all that. He's managing a branch of Smart Brain after all."

"So he doesn't do anything for fun?" Sam asked.

"He reads," Ryuki and Tazuka answered in unison.

Ryuki continued, "He likes to read, a lot."

"Mostly Gothic books," Tazuka finished. "We've seen him enjoying himself when he reads a book. Engrossed, actually."

"Trust me," Takada said, "Fun and him don't exactly mix. Well, not what our ideas of what fun is."

"Ichijyo just has a different idea of what fun is," Tazuka spoke in his employer's defense.

"Yeah," Takada snorted. "He enjoys making me suffer. He bans me from experiments and working with machines. I'm surprised he hasn't banned me from missions yet."

"Uh…didn't you, like, blow something up every time he did that though?" asked Alex. "I mean, judging from the stories I heard."

"She has a point, Takada," Ryuki nodded. "You were only banned after some kind of accident occurred, which caused massive destruction and chaos."

"I still don't see why he had to get all uptight about it," Takada growled. "No one got hurt and a few buildings were blown up. Big deal."

"No one got hurt, true," Tazuka nodded. "But remember that the majority of the things you blow up, school buildings, labs, pieces of technology, they were all in possession of Ichijyo and his family. You were blowing up his property, technically speaking."

"Really?" Takada blinked. "Wow. You think that's why he hates me?"

"Doubtful," Ryuki shrugged. "But it doesn't help."

Tazuka sighed. Takada seemed to be completely oblivious to the amount of damage he'd caused and the consequences. Then again, all those explosions must've jarred his brain loose. He went over to the radar and examined it. "Alright, we're almost above the Galleria Mall. Put on the parachutes."

"Well, looks like it's the same as WOOHP," Sam said, sighing, as the door on the side of the jet opened. "Ready, girls?"

"Ready!" Alex shouted.

"Alright, we're flying above the Galleria Mall!" Tazuka announced as he and the rest of the Riders were putting on their parachute packs as the girls all jumped out.

"Shopping spree, here I come!" Clover screamed as she fell down and released her red parachute. Sam and Alex released theirs too.

The three girls had their parachutes working perfectly. Alex looked up and saw that Ryuki and Tazuka had also opened their chutes with ease. However, a black and blue blur fell past her.

"WAAAAHHHHHHGGGHH!" the blur screamed as it fell past.

"Was that Takada?!" Clover cried in shock.

"I think it was!" Sam exclaimed.

**WHAM!**

The five teens landed on the roof of the mall with ease. Clover detached her parachute quickly before running over to where Takada had made impact with the roof.

"Takada!" she cried as she reached his body. "Takada, speak to me!"

"Ugh," the boy genius groaned. "I'm OK." He slowly began getting up from the indent in the roof he had created. He looked almost like the living dead, but he was okay. "What happened to my chute?"

"Takada!" Ryuki cried as he and the others came running to their friend.

"Hey, guys," he sighed. "I'm okay. Nothing's broken."

"Wow," Alex blinked. "He really is invincible. How handy is that?"

"Saved my bacon more than once," Takada agreed. He winced as he moved. "Doesn't mean I can't feel it though. Ow."

"That had to have hurt," Tazuka frowned. "Why didn't your chute open?"

"I dunno," Takada sighed as he shrugged the item in question off his back. "I'll look at it later. Right now, we have a mission to do."

"He's right," Sam nodded. "Normally I'd be concerned but since Takada seems to be okay, we can get a move on."

"Agreed," Tazuka nodded. "Let's go."

As they all got into more civilian looking attire, running through Ryuki's mind was what he was going to do once he met up with the old gang again.


	3. Seeking Ron

The 6 secret agents entered the Galleria Mall and Clover's eyes immediately sparkled in delight. She swooned, "My god, I am in heaven and it is beautiful! This is my paradise!"

"Look at how big it is," Alex said as her eyes gazed at all the stores. "It's even bigger than our mall."

"Well, that's the Galleria Mall for you," Tazuka said. "Sometimes it's easy to get lost in here."

"I'll say," Sam said. "You need a map for this place."

Ryuki was strangely quiet. This place, it brought back memories. Most of them were fond memories of hanging out with his friends but then…he remembered what he had been forced to do in the end to protect them. He often wondered if he'd done the right thing. Ichijyo seemed to think so, but as for Ryuki…

"Hey, kiddo," Takada spoke, earning the redhead's attention. "Why so quiet?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Takada," Ryuki said, shaking his head. "Nothing at all," he smiled. Takada accepted the answer. However, Tazuka knew that Ryuki's heart was hurting. Alex also noticed this as she waked over and took his hand. He looked at her and he smiled. Ever since that day when he'd been forced to erase Caitlin's memories of himself, he'd been depressed. He did smile but it was rather forced than his usual one. Meeting Alex took that pain away. He really hoped that this time around his relationship wouldn't be jeopardized. He really liked her.

But did he love her?

"It's painful, isn't it?" Alex asked. Ryuki had told her about the mission and what he had to do. She understood. WOOHP often did it for security but sometimes it just didn't seem quite justified.

"Hai, it is," Ryuki admitted.

"You want to see them, don't you?"

"Demo…"

"It'll be okay," Alex said reassuringly. "Just act natural."

Could he really do that? It sounded too easy.

"Alright, people," Sam said, taking on the leadership role. "Remember that we're on a mission here. We have to interview Ron. He must be here, somewhere."

"But isn't he blind?" Clover asked.

"Ron is a war veteran," Tazuka reminded. "I don't think a simple disability will stop him from doing his job. He's a very stubborn person by nature."

"Just listen for someone saying the word 'maggot'," Ryuki added. "That will lead you right to him."

"OK…So, what do we do in the meantime?" Takada asked.

Clover scanned the mall and then her eyes brightened when she saw a store. "Ooh, Albatross and Finch!" She had spotted it, and the hot topless boys. She grabbed Takada's hand. "Come on!"

"Clover, wait!" Sam shouted as she chased after them. Tazuka sighed. He turned his eyes towards Ryuki and Alex.

"I guess will be doing this in pairs, right?" Tazuka asked the younger Dragon Knight. This could turn out to be good. Alex might be able to get him over his sadness.

"Hai, I believe so," Ryuki nodded, his hand tightening around Alex's. It wasn't painful and Alex seemed to enjoy it.

"We'll keep in touch," Alex said. "I'm kinda hungry after that jump."

Tazuka nodded before going after Sam, Clover and Takada.

"So, the food court?" Ryuki inquired.

"Lead the way," Alex smiled while hugging his arm.

* * *

It was just like how he'd remember it. The gang was all there, hanging out. There was Jen taking her break, Jonesy bragging about something, Jude enjoying his lunch, Wyatt sipping his coffee, and Nikki making sarcastic remarks at Jonesy. Of course, at the lemon, serving drinks was Caitlin. His heart rate sped up at the sight of her. She didn't seem to have changed much since those months ago. She still looked cute and…no longer his girlfriend as he saw her flirt with a cute boy. He had to remember that those times were over and gone. They didn't remember him. No point in trying to mend a broken relationship that never existed to them. At least they didn't have to suffer the pain of lost as he had.

Ichijyo once offered to erase those memories but Ryuki declined. As painful as it was, there were some good times he wanted to keep, to treasure, and he didn't want to lose that, even if the memories would be a constant reminder to the pain. He didn't have a choice and yet he made the choice that led to the greatest pain.

"That's them, right?" Alex asked, remembering the photographs on Ryuki's wall. They were easy to recognize since Ryuki had taken such care in keeping the picture he had of them.

"Hai," Ryuki nodded. He pointed out each one. "The redhead is Jen, the purple-haired girl is Nikki, the skater boy is Jude, the one drinking coffee is Wyatt, the other boy is Jonesy and…"

"The girl in the lemon hat is Caitlin," Alex finished. Ryuki nodded. Alex herself had to admit that Caitlin was cute. She had the 'girls-next-door' vibe about her, blonde hair, and green eyes. "What did you like about her?"

"Her energy and her eyes," Ryuki admitted. They were the same color as his.

Energy…Ryuki liked energetic girls. Caitlin was energetic at shopping, like Clover, while Alex was energetic when it came to athletics.

"Come on, I think I want one of those lemon smoothies," Alex stated, dragging him along. He hesitated but didn't put much of a resistance. Sooner or later, he had to face them. Alex silently promised herself that she would help him through this as much as possible.

Arriving at the Lemon, Alex made her order, "One large lemon smoothie with two straws, please?"

"Coming right up!" Caitlin said brightly. When she was finished making the smoothie for them, she stuck in two straws. "Here you go."

Ryuki took out his money to pay and when his hand brushed along Caitlin's she gasped.

"What's wrong?" he asked, feeling a little concerned over the girl he was trying to get over.

"I'm fine," Caitlin replied. Her eyes focused on Ryuki and narrowed, "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

Ryuki grew quiet. He didn't know what to say. Luckily for him, Alex was able to lend support. "Oh, we've actually just arrived. Maybe you think we look like people you know."

Caitlin accepted the answer, somewhat, "OK, I guess that must be it. For a second there I thought you looked like this boy I knew."

Ryuki swallowed.

"I'm Alex, and this is Leo," Alex introduced.

"Konnichiwa," Ryuki bowed. Alex grabbed the smoothie and took Ryuki's hand before dragging him towards a nearby table. Caitlin scratched her head in confusion.

"I could've sworn he looked familiar," the lemon hat wearing girl muttered. For some reason, she felt a slight urge to hug to boy. Well, he was really cute.

* * *

"This is the life," Clover said as she and Takada entered Albatross and Finch.

"I'll say," Takada agreed as his eyes fell on the Greeter Goddesses. He was still a womanizing flirt by nature. His phone rang so he picked it up. There was a text message. He flipped open his phone and read it.

'_Keep your eyes to yourself. You're in the company of a lady_,' he read Tazuka's warning. Takada shivered. He never figured out how Tazuka's powers work. Sure 'magic' was a good way of summarizing it but he did prefer more scientific answers.

Sam and Tazuka entered and even Sam had to appreciate the appearance of hunky looking topless boys. Sure she saw a lot on the beach but never at the mall. Her cheeks flushed a little. She nearly forgot her train of thought.

Clover instantly got along with the Greeter Gods and Goddesses. It made sense when they thought about it. This was Clover's element and she was good at what she did. It was only right that the Greeters would accept her with open arms.

"I am sure glad that Ichijyo sent us here," Clover said as she looked around. "Makes me want to take back all the bad things I've said about him."

"I wouldn't go that far," Takada said. "He's still a jerk, even if he can be nice when he wants to and even that is rare."

"We still have a mission," Tazuka reminded. "So, we'll just look around for a few minutes, buy a few things, and go."

"Tazuka, you have a lot to understand about the female mind," Takada said as he patted Tazuka's shoulder. "Girls don't just look and buy. They try out the clothes and see if their boyfriends like them."

"Also girls expect the boys to carry their bags for them," Tazuka replied back. Takada paled.

"Oh, man, I forgot about that," Takada palmed his face but then he looked at Clover. Actually, he was looking up and down her figure and smiled. "But it would be so totally worth it."

Takada crossed his arms. What did Ichijyo call Takada? Was it a mongrel in heat that couldn't keep it in his pants? It was along those lines but Tazuka doubt it went that far. Tazuka observation only proved that Takada couldn't keep his eyes to himself as Clover went into the changing rooms with Sam and his eyes just looked at all the other girls, most prominently the attractive Greeter Goddesses.

A long day was ahead of them. Might as well find a place to sit down.

* * *

As Alex and Ryuki shared the smoothie, she couldn't help but feel that Ryuki mind was wandering. He was strangely quiet and not his usual upbeat self. She took one sip before asking, "Are you feeling okay?"

He answered, "Of course. What makes you say that?"

"You're not usually this quiet," Alex pointed out. Despite being a little naïve at times, she could be observant when it came to a boy she dated.

Ryuki sighed. Lying was not an option since he could not do it so well. He could keep secrets but lies were a whole other story. He could bend the truth but the holes would be seen in his story so obviously. He looked her in the eye and spoke, "I just, well, feel empty when I'm here. They were my friends and now they don't even know me."

"They don't remember you."

"Doesn't make the pain go away, though," he stated sadly. Alex didn't like seeing him so sad. What happened to the boy she kissed that day? What happened to the perpetual smile that was always on his face or that sunny disposition? It was like he was a whole different person.

No, this was actually a part of him that he didn't often show. He was still human despite being able to make fire come out of his hands. He still had emotions. Maybe that was why he was so reluctant to tell her about his powers. He feared rejection.

She knew how to take care of that.

She took hold of his face, resting her palms gentle on his cheeks. He responded to the contact to just gaze at her. She smiled and gently pulled his face to hers. Ryuki gasped but then his eyes closed as she closed her own eyes. She slowly kissed him, letting his savor the taste of her lips, which tasted like lemons like his due to the drink they were sharing. She pulled away for a second before kissing him again.

Rtuki's eyes opened a little and in the corner of his eye he could see the notoriously known couple, Jason and Joannie, who were always seen making out. It would appear that they were challenging Ryuki and Alex to a kissing contest but Ryuki paid them no mind. He was enjoying the way Alex was kissing him. Her lips were just so soft.

She pulled away, cheeks flushed and panting and so was he. A bead of sweat was wiped away from his forehead as he smiled.

"Where did that come from?" he asked.

"I wanted to cheer you up," Alex admitted. "Did it work?"

"I guess," Ryuki shrugged. "But maybe we should check again?"

Alex got the message and then started to kiss him again.

* * *

Sam and Clover left Albatross and Finch with Takada and Tazuka in two, holding their shopping bags.

"You know, I think I forgot how hard girls shopped," Takada said, struggling with his load."

"I saw this coming, really," Tazuka said.

"Of course you did, you're a fortune teller," Takada retorted. He turned his attention to the girls. "So, girls, what now?"

Sam was about to speak, mostly about their mission, until Clover pointed, "Ooh, let's check that place out!" She was talking about the Khaki Barn.

Takada gave Tazuka a look of dread but the older boy shrugged nonchalantly. Luckily for Tazuka, Sam knew when to stop.

"I think it's time Tazuka and I go and look for Ron," Sam said. "We'll keep in touch and tell us if you find anything suspicious."

Clover gave Sam and 'OK' sign before dragging Takada towards the Khaki Barn. Tazuka chuckled in amusement as he followed Sam in search of Ron.

* * *

"We should really go, now," Alex said, panting from the kisses.

"I agree," Ryuki said, his face making a fine impression of a tomato. "Before we loose control."

They had been making out for almost an hour and things were getting little hot under the collar. Of course, it didn't help Ryuki when Yaminekoryu was encouraging Ryuki to 'mark' Alex with a hickey.

Ryuki took the empty smoothie cup and threw it over his shoulder. It landed inside a trashcan before he stood up with Alex and they headed out of the food court. They had to remember they had a mission to complete.

Suddenly, Ryuki heard a scream, "Thief! He took my purse!"

"Excuse me!" Ryuki yelled before he took off. Alex chased after him. There was a purse snatcher in his sights and she knew he was going to go after the guy. She might as well help provide backup.

The purse-snatcher ran towards the exit. Nobody seemed to make an effort to grab him, not even those pesky mall caps. Just a few more feet and he would home free.

However, he tripped as Alex did a sweep kick under his legs and he fell to the ground, scattering the contents of the purse he was carrying. He gathered what he could before getting up but then his face met with an elbow and he was knocked to the ground. He tried to get up but then a foot pressed down on his chest, pinning him down. He looked up to see angry looking red eyes.

"I suggest you stay down if you know what's good for you," Ryuki said as he clenched his fists. The purse-snatcher, now with a broken nose due to the hit he got from Ryuki, gave up. Alex took the purse and put everything back inside. The owner of the purse, the attractive Yummy-Mummy, approached them.

"Oh, thank you," Yummy-Mummy said. "Thank you for helping me get my purse."

"Oh, it was nothing," Alex smiled. Of course, she felt ignored since Yummy-Mummy was actually talking to Ryuki.

"What's your name, young man?" Yummy-Mummy asked.

It was déjà vu for Ryuki since he remembered doing this for her. "It's Leo, ma'am," he said, smiling.

Alex knew this woman was flirting with Ryuki so she stepped forward and grabbed Ryuki's arm. "And I'm Alex." She handed Yummy-Mummy her purse. "And this is your purse."

Yummy-Mummy took it and winked at Ryuki before walking away.

Ryuki looked down at the criminal and asked, "What do we do with you?"

"You'll hand that maggot over to me, that's what!" an all too familiar deep voice spoke. Ryuki knew it well. Alex and Ryuki's eyes went over to the direction of the voice to see a man in a security guard's uniform, but wearing sunglasses and holding a cane.

It was Ron. They had found him.

* * *

Character Bios

**THE MASKED RIDERS**

**Ichijyo Desmond Amakusa-Akuma/Shadowcobra **is a founding member of the Special Ops team dubbed the "Masked Riders" and de-facto leader of the team while operating as CEO of Smart Brain Tokyo. He has few field missions since he has to run Smart Brain's Tokyo Branch but will go on the field when necessary. He has very few friends and treats the ones he does have quite coldly, though he really does care for them despite not showing it. He possesses shadow manipulation abilities, an aptitude for magic (which is ironic since Smart Brain is a technologies company), some psychic abilities, stealth skills and the power of Invisibility. He and Takada have an intense rivalry attributed from their first meeting which resulted in a fight. This was also caused by Takada whose inventions and experiments result in explosions and large amounts of damage. He holds some respect for his friends, the most being for Ryuki despite seeing him as a naïve idealist. He seems to be suspicious of everyone and keeps files on them. He refers to Takada with terms describing dogs (mongrel, mutt, etc). His jumpsuit is black and purple.

**Ryuki Leonard Hasuma/Draco **is a founding member of the Masked Riders and the one to suggest the team name, which stuck. The name of the team comes from Ryuki's idolism of the Kamen Riders, whom Ryuki admires. He is often times the field leader, with Takada and Tazuka's help of course. He is Ichijyo polar opposite as he is always smiling, easily excitable and makes friends easily. Ryuki possess psychic abilities like Ichijyo but are limited to only telekinesis and teleportation. It should be interesting to note that Ichijyo was the one to teach Ryuki how to hone these abilities. Ryuki also has the ability to absorb heat as well release it, which would explain his slightly higher than normal body temperature. He, like Ichijyo, comes from a wealthy family. Ryuki can project fireballs, taking advantage of his ability to absorb heat. However, he cannot control the heat he releases since it's always on and he can melt ice on contact. Because of this, Ryuki has never had ice cream or fun in the snow. This, however, doesn't affect his outlook on life. Of course, he is very emotionally sensitive and would end up in depression for a while. He is currently dating Alex. He likes her because of their common interests like sports and food. At first, he is a little reluctant due to his previous relationship ending badly but Alex helped him recover his bright spirit. His jumpsuit is black and red.

**Yoshiyuki Takada/Pluto** is a founding member of the Masked Riders and the team's tech expert. He is a high level genius, capable of hacking into complex computers, conducting experiments as well as creating advanced machinery. However, he is also very absent minded and careless, resulting in various mishaps (a common running gag) most often comical and destructive. He and Ichijyo share an intense dislike for each other from their first meeting, even after being united. He doesn't seem to hold any respect for Ichijyo but he does seem fond of Ryuki. He has a habit of flirting with random girls and as such dubbed a playboy by Ichijyo. His ability of invulnerability is useful to him since his experiments often blow up in his face. Considered a mad scientist by many, his mentor is a fellow mad scientist named Professor Yuriko Murata. How Ichijyo can stay sane with these two defies logic. He is currently dating Clover. Takada, like Clover, is also obsessive about his looks and as such takes time spiking up his hair. His jumpsuit is black and navy blue.

**Tazuka Mizuki/Jawz** is the team's newest member and the oldest boy in the group. He is a college student upon their first meeting and later transferred to Red Horse Private Institute. He uses his powers of clairvoyance to earn money as a fortuneteller and his predictions are almost never wrong. This is not the case with Ryuki who he considers an anomaly. As such, he takes on the role of older brother towards Ryuki, who in turn looks up and admires him, looking to him for advice which Tazuka gives to his younger brother. He possesses information of the future which he is sometimes reluctant to share unless there is an emergency. He has a relationship with Sam which budded from their first mission together and their appreciation for the finer things in life like art. He is also a musician, able to play numerous instruments, but is mostly seen playing the piano. His jumpsuit is black and blue.

**THE SPIES**

**Sam **sports a green catsuit and is the de-facto leader of the three Spies. She is the smartest and most focused member of the group. Like her friends, she likes to shop, visit salons and date just like any teenage girl but is still the most responsible one of them, making her a good leader on missions. She often prefers more intellectual pursuits, like reading in the library or just visiting the museum. She likes older mature men and this is seen when she blushes at Ichijyo and while she's dating Tazuka. She enjoys his company and it seems mutual.

**Clover **sports a red catsuit and has a valley-girl accent. She is most concern about her looks, popularity, boys and the latest trends compared to her spy work. Due to this, she is often side-tracked on missions. However, she does care for her friends and will jump to help them. Though she isn't as smart as Sam or as athletic as Alex, her knowledge of pop-culture often helps out in certain times. Her obsession with good looks also attributes to her hunting for her 'Mr. Right' which she found in Takada. Both of them are very similar in personality and are flirtatious. She uses 'study-dates' as excuses to get close to the genius. Like Takada, she also has a low opinion of Ichijyo who ruined her hair on their first encounter, despite the tape dissolving overnight,

**Alex **sports a yellow catsuit and is the youngest of the Spies. She is also the most athletic and fitness minded of her friends as she enjoys exercise and playing sports. Like Ryuki, she is also naïve and a bit slow on the uptake on certain conversations plus has trouble focusing. She also takes figures of speech literally. Though she is the most healthy, she likes to eat a lot which Ryuki appreciates since he too enjoys eating. Her relationship with Ryuki started when she observed how depressed he was over his mother's disappearance, culminating in a romance. She deeply cares for Ryuki and will try to cheer him up the best she can.


	4. Fun at the Mall

Ron the Rent-A-Cop brought several unpleasant memories back. Sure they guy was mall security, but did he have to be a jerk all the time? Well, given his background it was no surprise why he was so grouchy all the time and suspicious of everybody. It was like he never left the war at all.

Ryuki looked down on the purse-snatcher he had pinned down under his foot and then back to Ron. "Um…I don't think that's much of an option."

"What are you implying, maggot?" Ron demanded. "Are you saying I am not capable of doing my job?"

"Well, you are blind," Alex pointed out bluntly. "Maybe we can help you."

Ron looked thoughtful for a second. Even if his eyes weren't visible, they were still narrowed. "Very well, follow me." Ron turned and led them. Ryuki and Alex firmly grabbed hold of the purse-snatcher and carried him as they followed Ron.

"He sure knows his place around, for someone who just turned blind," Alex pointed out.

"Well, this is Ron," Ryuki stated. "Not much can really stop him. He is a war veteran, like I said. At least this gives us a chance to speak with him."

The blind security guard didn't appear to hear them, but rest assured he did. While he didn't care much for the opinions of 'maggots', he was pleased to know that they knew not to mess around with him. Apparently his reputation preceded him since he was sure this kid was new. Since his 'accident' he had started memorizing voices of those around him so he could pinpoint the troublemakers. This kid was a new one.

Ron stood in front of the mall security office and fumbled with his keys. There were several failed attempts in putting the key into the keyhole but he managed to do it on the 6th try. Ryuki had offered but was rudely snapped at by Ron who later opened the door for them. The security office had surveillance monitors and a cell for those who broke 'Mall Law' as Ron put it. Ron went over and opened the door to the cell before Ryuki and Alex threw the crook inside. Ron then slammed the door and locked it.

"Thanks, maggots," Ron said. That was as grateful as he could sound. "Now, beat it."

"Actually, Ron," Alex began. "We want to ask you a few questions…about what happened to your eyes."

Ron sat down and sighed. "Well, might as well tell somebody. The doctors don't have a clue as to what's wrong with them." Ron took off his shades and Alex gasped. Ryuki was shocked to silence. Both of Ron's eyes were completely white!

"What happened?" Ryuki asked. He had to get information, quick.

"I was watching TV," Ron said, "And then there was this bright flash of light. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see a thing." He was strangely calm, nearly unfazed, which was slightly disturbing. Well, Ichijyo had said that the other victims were on the verge of suicide. Better to interview a sane and calm one compared to a suicidal one.

Ryuki spoke to Ron, "Ron-san, can you tell us where you got the TV."

"The same place everyone gets one," Ron answered. "The Stereo Shack."

"Stereo Shack?" Alex asked Ryuki.

"It's a store that sells TV's, VCR's, stereos, DVD players…" Ryuki listed. "Entertainment systems, mostly."

"Right," Ron agreed. "Now, get out!" Ron pointed to the door with his cane. "And don't let me catch you doing funny stuff, maggots."

Ryuki bowed before he took Alex with him out of the room. It was time to report in and they had a real lead to follow.

* * *

The 6 agents met up at a bench near the fountain after Ryuki had made his calls. Takada and Clover were both loaded down with packages from different stores. Alex and Ryuki both assumed that Clover's addiction to shopping was the reason for it.

"So, you managed to get information from Ron?" Sam asked. "That's great."

"And what were you all doing?" Ryuki asked, arms crossed. He hadn't failed to notice both Takada and Clover had shopping bags with them. "Shopping?"

"Well, we are at a mall," Clover said. "It'd be a waste to just not shop."

"Why didn't you guys tell me about this place?" Takada asked. "This place has the best stuff."

"Because, at the time, your Smart Brain credit card had been confiscated," Tazuka reminded.

"Oh, is that right?" Takada chuckled. He remembered how he got banned from using it by Ichijyo. Still, the reason he lost it had been worth it. The fact that it had gotten Ichijyo mad was just gravy on the top.

"So, the Stereo Shack?" Tazuka asked.

"Yep," Alex nodded. "So, you know who runs it."

"Darth," Ryuki and Tazuka spoke in unison.

"What kind of name is Darth?" Clover asked.

* * *

"Oh," Clover blinked as they all stood in front of the Stereo Shack. "That explains it."

Darth, the assistant manager of the Stereo Shack, was the stereotypical nerd. He had short orange hair, an acne problem, skinny looking, but also wore a Darth Vader glove, helmet, cape and was holding a lightsabre.

"That's Darth," Tazuka pointed. "As in Darth Vader."

"That explains a lot," Sam said, smiling nervously.

Takada, however, was not fazed. "Wow, that guy must really like Star Wars?" The girls looked at him funny. "What?"

"You're a Star Wars fan?" Clover questioned, surprised.

"Well, it's a cool series of movies," Takada stated. "The special effects, the alien worlds, plus the lightsabre stuff is awesome!"

"He made us watch the original version of the trilogy, the digitally remade version, and the 3 prequels," Ryuki spoke. He remembered the marathon well. It had been Takada's birthday and since they wouldn't order strippers like he had wanted, they did the Star Wars marathon instead. "In one whole night."

"It was a Star Wars movie marathon, as he put it, and we had to sit through it all," Tazuka sighed. "Interesting movies, true, but well…I'm not really one who'd want to watch all 9 movies in a row."

Takada approached Darth, "Yo, you a Star Wars fan?"

"Who wants to know?" Darth inquired and Takada produced from his jacket a Darth Vader action figure, in its original packaging. "Is that…?"

"Got this baby off Ebay," Takada said. "The original Darth Vader action figure, and it can be yours if you give us what we want."

"OK," Darth said, eyes shining. "I'll give you anything! Take the whole store if you want!"

"Relax, my fellow Star Wars fan," Takada smiled. "All I need is info and this prize will be all yours."

Tazuka came forward, "We want to know about the TV you sold Ron."

"Alright, before he decides to sue us or something," Darth said vehemently. "Stereo Shack is not responsible for any malfunctions of the items we sell. It's not our fault he went blind because of watching TV. Didn't you know sitting too close to the TV can lead to blindness?"

"Right, we are not accusing you," Tazuka said calmly. "We just want to know where the TV came from."

"You mean our supplier?" Darth asked. Tazuka nodded. "Alright, let me go and check our records." Darth went to the counter.

"So, is that the reason why Ichijyo confiscated your credit card?" Tazuka asked.

"Well, mostly," Takada shrugged. There had been a few other charges on it that Ichijyo hadn't liked, but the Darth Vader figure was the main reason.

"Makes sense as to how you got that set of James Bond DVD's," Ryuki said.

"So, you're into Star Wars?" Clover said, feeling a little nervous. Sure Takada did not look like a geek, but he had geeky interests. She did like him, she did. He was hot but…still…No! She should not ruin this because he had weird interests! He was a good looking guy with a hobby! Nothing wrong with that! At least that was how she was rationalizing it. She was not going to let the best relationship she had gotten to this far become ruined by a stupid saga of movies.

Darth came back out with a slip of paper, a copy of the receipt. "Here, this receipt has the information you need, including the name of the supplier."

"Thanks," Takada said as he took the receipt. "And here's the payment." Darth gleefully laughed as he received the action figure.

"Can't wait till I show Julie!" Darth cackled. "AT LAST, IT IS MINE!"

The 6 agents nervously backed away. They had only seen Takada get this excited about one of his newest inventions. Not even he was that big of a Star Wars fan.

"So, it's lunch now," Ryuki said, looking at his watch. "How about some sushi at Super Terrific Happy Sushi?"

The girls all shared wide smiles. Ryuki smiled the widest. They all must love sushi.

* * *

Seated at a table, the 6 agents were enjoying a large sushi platter. Takada had unfolded the receipt while he scanned the information into his phone.

"Alright, let's see," Takada said as he popped a sushi roll into his mouth. "Says here, the TV was supplied and manufactured by a local factory called 'Sunshine Electronics'."

"Weird name," Clover said as she took a bite.

"And WOOHP isn't?" Tazuka pointed out.

"OK, I guess you got a point there," Clover shrugged.

"Let me find information on this place," Takada said as he used the internet function on his phone. "OK, the place is pretty brand new and opened a few days ago."

"That's strange," Tazuka rubbed his chin.

"Yep, it opened at the same time as people started going blind, because of watching their TV's," Takada frowned. "Coincidence, I think not."

"Maybe we should ask Ichijyo to find more information," Ryuki suggested.

"Well, don't say I don't ask the jerk for anything," Takada said before he punched a button and sent the data to Ichijyo's phone. "In the meantime, we should check out the amusement park."

Sam, Clover and Alex's eyes widened. Sam asked, "An amusement park, in here?"

"Judging by the size, are you really surprised?" Tazuka responded.

"They also have the Gigantoplex, a huge movie theatre," Ryuki said.

"Ooh, we should so check it out," Alex squealed. She looked imploringly towards Sam.

"OK, maybe we can have fun, but first thing tomorrow we start looking for answers at Sunshine Electronics." Sam was sandwiched between her two friends in a hug.

Of course, someone had to ruin the moment as Ichijyo's face showed up on the Riders' SB-Watches. He didn't look too pleased. Then again, from what they've seen, seeing him looking pleased was as rare as seeing the same comet fly by twice in the same lifetime.

"_Hello, Riders and Spies_," Ichijyo said in an emotionless tone, which he was known for when he spoke of business.

"Great…" Takada rolled his eyes.

"Found anything, Ichijyo?" Ryuki asked.

"_About Sunshine Electronics, not much," _Ichijyo informed,_ "But based on the address on the receipt, it was an abandoned factory until a week ago_."

"Abandoned?" Tazuka inquired. His phone beeped and he took it out. He then flipped it open to show a picture of what Sunshine Electronics looked like before.

"OK, that place seriously needs to be fixed up," Clover pointed out.

"_Well, apparently it did, but information on whoever bought it and converted it into an electronics factory is still difficult to get at this time._"

"Thought you were a genius, scaleface," Takada teased.

"_I maybe a genius, but I'm not a world class hacker like a certain someone I know," Ichijyo icily retorted. "In any case, I hope to get a report on any new information you may find regarding this case. Shadowcobra out._" His face vanished.

"He has a codename too?" Clover asked, incredulously.

"He is our official leader, even if he is stuck behind a desk most of the time," Tazuka answered.

"Well, we better check this out," Sam stated.

"Why not tonight when the darkness allows us to be a little more stealthy?" Ryuki suggested.

"Now that's not a bad idea," Alex smiled. Maybe a day at the Galleria Mall might be good and maybe Alex could help Ryuki get over Caitlin once and for all.

* * *

Takada and Clover found themselves in front of the large arcade in the mall. The genius knew that he wasn't going to be leaving without making a stop in this place. Once he managed to get inside, he almost went into raptures of joy. He could see blinking lights and hear game sounds everywhere.

"I am home," he sighed happily.

"Wow," Clover blinked. "I thought that arcades were like breeding grounds for geeks."

"Well, there are a few," Takada shrugged. "But there are those of us who are like professional gamers. We do it for the challenge than just fun by itself. Sort of like how you look for sales while shopping."

Clover nodded. That was true, while shopping was her passion and she enjoyed it, she also took it seriously. Takada apparently was the same with his games and his experiments.

"Now," Takada grinned. "Where can a guy find some Guitar Hero? I feel like making some music."

It didn't take him long before he found one. What came next was nothing short of a musical which a professional could make. Numerous people were gawking at how Takada was conquering the machine. It made Clover swell with pride that her man was skilled enough to draw a crowd. It wasn't even geeky either. It just meant he was a good musician. He did tell her that he was in a band. He was a natural for this game.

Maybe she should test him out on DDR?

* * *

Tazuka and Sam were both looking forward to spending some nice and quiet alone time with each other. Despite the fact that both of them were supposed to be working on a case, Tazuka couldn't help but agree that maybe spending some time-off with the girls would be good. He was fond of Sam, even if she was a couple of years younger than he was. She was mature, and intelligent. Definitely qualities that he liked in a woman.

They were standing in line at the Gigantoplex, waiting to get tickets to a movie. So far, they hadn't made a decision.

"So, what do you want to watch, Sam?" Tazuka asked the red haired girl, who was scrutinizing the movie posters to determine what to see. Tazuka couldn't care less since he'd be spending time with Sam.

"Not sure, yet," Sam said, biting her lower lip. She needed to choose something that was nice and sophisticated. Something she felt Tazuka would enjoy. She knew he was artistic, but also mysterious. So, would a musical be his taste, or a detective movie? A thriller, perhaps? Oh, she just couldn't decide.

She gasped when she felt his hands on her shoulders and he whispered into her ear. "Whatever you choose, it's good enough for me." She sighed and her knees turned wobbly. Despite being a super spy and the smartest girl in school, she was in all definition still a teenage girl and teenage girls went crazy around handsome boys and Tazuka definitely was one handsome boy, on her top three list. On that list was David, a boy that the girls often fought over but he merely saw them as friends. It was frustrating, but the guy was just so nice.

Well, Sam had a new boy in her life and she was going to keep him around. At least she knew he wasn't going to betray her.

* * *

Both Ryuki and Alex were yelling and laughing at the top of their lungs as they sped through the roller coaster at top speed. Ryuki's braid was flapping in the winds as he held onto the safety bar of the car so tight that his knuckles were turning white. However, he had a look of mirth on his face, only matched by Alex's who was sitting right beside him.

Alex was an energetic girl and loved excitement, so the amusement park was a good place for them to go to have some fun and have a date. Takada and Tazuka had taken the other two girls on similar excursions to just spend time together until they went to do some sleuthing.

When the ride ended, Alex was a little wobbly but Ryuki managed to catch her. Finding her breath, she shouted out, "Let's do that again!" She sure was happy.

Ryuki chuckled as she helped her towards a bench to rest. "Maybe later. Right now, how about I get us a drink?"

"That would be great," Alex said, still a little woozy. Ryuki quickly zipped towards a refreshment stand.

'_Having fun, aibou?_' Yaminekoryu spoke within his host's mind.

"I can't remember having this much fun before," Ryuki replied, taking two cans of soda from the refreshment stand.

'_Except when you were with Caitlin here_,' Yaminekoryu reminded. Ryuki froze.

"Why must you…?"

'_Remind you? I'm not. I'm just telling you what you're thinking. There's no doubt that you still have feelings for her._'

"I do, but I've moved on," Ryuki muttered.

'_Have you?_' Yaminekoryu didn't sound too convinced.

Ryuki shook his head to get Yaminekoryu's voice out but he knew it was a matter of time before his demonic tenant spoke again. Yaminekoryu was a part of him, ever since he was born. The demon was his guardian and often took control in the beginning of his career as a Knight and operative, saving his life. He couldn't get rid of him since they were bound together.

He never told his friends, except for Tazuka and he suspected that ichijyo may be aware of Yaminekoryu more than he showed it. A quick personality change never went unnoticed by anyone, though Takada would attribute it to Ryuki having a split-personality. He was close but no cigar.

He approached Alex and saw a guy talking to her. His eyes narrowed. What was he doing with Alex? What were they talking about? Ryuki's eyes glimmered a deep shade of green as he frowned and went forward to see…

Then he saw that it was Jonesy.

"Honestly, I can show a whole bunch of places that are just as good as the roller coaster," the self-proclaimed ladies man smiled charmingly.

"I appreciate the offer," Alex sweatdropped slightly. "But I really can't."

"Are you sure?" Jonesy pressed gently. "I mean, I don't bite."

'_Do not pound Jonesy, do not pound Jonesy,_' Ryuki chanted over and over in his head. Yaminekoryu's influence was pressing him to defend his girlfriend but he had to remember that Jonesy did not disrespect women nor did he force the issue. He'd keep trying, but eventually give up.

Despite his struggles with Yaminekoryu, Ryuki was still receiving the rush of memories he had about Jonesy. He remembered all the ways that the teen had helped him out, with his dates with Caitlin to their jobs at the book store that they had shared. The memories of good friends he couldn't hang out with really hurt.

Alex spotted him coming closer and smiled before turning back to Jonesy, "Sorry, but my boyfriend's coming over."

"Huh?" Jonesy blinked before he turned to see Ryuki standing behind him. He gulped slightly at being busted. "Oh…uh, hey sorry, man. My bad. I didn't know she was your girl."

"Don't worry about it," Ryuki smiled calmly. "Alex-chan is a very cute girl and no man in their right mind wouldn't find her attractive."

Alex began blushing radiantly. Ryuki could always make her blush no matter how used to it she was.

"Hey, haven't I seen you before?" Jonesy asked as he stared at Ryuki. "You look way familiar to me, man," Jonesy said and Ryuki swallowed some saliva. He remembered erasing Jonesy's memory. No way could he remember him. "Hey, I think I saw you at the sushi place!"

Ryuki let out a relieved sigh. Jonesy's memories hadn't come back. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be happy about it or not.

Jonesy bid the couple goodbye before leaving the area. Alex then noticed the sad frown on her boyfriend's face. She knew why. Having friends who no longer remembered you could be a painful experience. Maybe she could help ease his pain.

"Hey, how about you win me a prize?" Alex said as she pointed towards one of the stands.

"Sure," Ryuki smiled.

* * *

A crowd had collected in front of the DDR machine, mostly geeks who came here who had no lives and few professional gamers. Cameras were flashing as the audience watched with rapt attention at the pair playing DDR.

It was Takada and Clover.

Takada and Clover were both moving to the music and dancing based on the arrows on the screen. Clover found the experience exhilarating and so was Takada as he watched her move. Man, she was one hot babe and her dancing proved how flexible she was.

Score.

As soon as the song finished, Clover did a pose and cameras began to flash. She gushed, "Oh, you love me! You really love me!" She blew kisses at her adoring public.

Takada was of course one of them as he whipped out his SB-Cell and used it to take several snapshots for his collection.

* * *

Tazuka and Sam exited the Gigantoplex and the red-haired girl sighed as both of them had seen a romantic movie together. Tazuka had enjoyed the movie with her as he had his arm around her shoulders.

"Great movie," Tazuka noted.

"Yeah," Sam sighed dreamily as she leaned into Tazuka's body. She hadn't seen a whole lot of the movie since she spent a part of it kissing Tazuka. How he had kept up with the movie she didn't know.

Tazuka smiled at the girl and considered himself lucky and enjoyed his time with her. He for once didn't want to know what it future held for them. He didn't want to waste time by counting down the days they had left. He wanted to enjoy the time they were currently using.

"So," he smiled. "Feel like checking out some music?"

"Definitely!" Sam nodded with a smile.

Tazuka smiled as he and Sam began walking. The future would come no matter what. It was what they did with the present that affected the outcome.

* * *

Alex giggled as she hugged the stuffed cat Ryuki had won her at shooting game stand. For someone who used his fists a lot in fights, he sure could use a rifle. Ranma had gotten himself a small hat that looked like cat ears, which he was wearing on his head.

"You look like a big kitten," Alex giggled as she took in the sight.

"You think so?" asked Ryuki.

"Yep!" Alex nodded. She then wrapped her arms around Ryuki in a hug, crushing the doll as she nuzzled her face into Ryuki's. "My big cuddly kitten."

Ryuki smiled as he hugged Alex back. He felt very warm as she held onto him. Being affectionate in public really wasn't a problem with him. He liked showing Alex how much he cared and if others saw, then that wasn't really a problem, at least around here. Takada would have gotten a little bit far at times and may even tease Ryuki. Of course, comparing the two Riders, Ryuki had the ability to keep a relationship lasting a lot longer. Of course, going out of their way to match someone like Takada would require some…discipline for their actions.

"Hmm," Alex sighed softly. "I don't wanna let go."

"You'll have to," Ryuki whispered as he lay his head on top of hers. "We won't be able to check out the rest of the park if we don't move."

"Mnnn," Alex sighed. "Now that's a tough choice."

"Take your time," Ryuki smiled. "I have nowhere to be for the time being."

"Hmm," Alex smiled as she snuggled. "Good. This is going to take some time to decide."

"You know, there is a pet store with lots of other kittens to cuddle with," Ryuki offered. He had been hoping to visit that place again. The animals were incredibly cute.

"I'd lova that!" Her gaze then turned mischievous as she looked up at Ryuki. "You're so sweet. That why you're my special cuddly kitten. You couldn't keep me away even if the world tried."

Ryuki smiled. He loved Alex a lot. He also enjoyed the hugs and kisses. Maybe if they had time he could show her the pet store. He just wished that he could spend more time with her.

* * *

Sam listened with a sigh as she sat next to Tazuka on a piano stool in a store that sold musical instruments. She didn't dare move since it would ruin the moment but swayed lightly with the music as his fingers danced across the keys of the piano. Tazuka seemed to know which keys to hit, even with eyes close. Either it was due to his clairvoyant abilities or his own talent, she didn't really care. It sounded beautiful nonetheless.

* * *

Clover and Takada relaxed on a bench. Actually, Takada was sitting on the bench as Clover was sitting across his lap, their lips locked in a kiss as he had his hands on her hips to keep her steady. Her arms were looped around his neck as she continued to make out with him. Clover was thinking over some of Takada's quirks. She had dated a lot of guys but they either weren't interested, didn't measure up to her expectations, too clingy, picky, or worse of all were interested in Mandy. That last part nearly made her gag in disgust.

Takada was none of that. He was a genius, had great fashion sense, loved to have fun and was a great kisser. Sure he was a little absentminded, careless and his eyes would wander towards other girls, but despite those things he was the perfect guy. Plus, he could shield her from danger with his own body and escape unscathed.

And his armor just made him look like a regal knight. When she had been a little girl, she often fantasized about meeting a real knight in shining armor.

Her dream had come true, one way or another.

* * *

The 6 teens met up back at the fountain after spending the entire day at the mall. It was starting to get late.

The boys shared serious looks and said, "It's time."

"Nuts," Clover sighed. "I don't think I even hit half of the stores in this mall."

"Get over it, Clover," Sam sighed. "Besides, no one said we have to go back home right after. We can get some more shopping done then."

"Yeah," Alex nodded. She was in total agreement, especially since it would allow her to spend some more time with Ryuki. "There's always time for more shopping."

"Now that we have dealt with the shopping crisis," Takada smiled as he reached into his backpack. "It's time I do a little digging on Sunshine Electronics myself."

Takada pulled out his laptop and sat on a bench. The other five teens crowded around him to see what he was going to do. To the girls' amazement, Takada's fingers began to fly over the keyboard as he brought up the website for Sunshine Electronics and attempted to hack into their systems. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for a moment before the screen suddenly went black and what looked like an iron door closed on the screen.

"Kuso!" Takada hissed in Japanese. It wasn't nice to curse in front of a lady unless she found it attractive. "They stonewalled me."

"Huh?" Sam blinked. "But didn't Ichijyo say you were some world-class hacker?"

"I am," Takada nodded. "But these guys have their security so beefed up I'll need to use my home computer or the one back at Smart Brain."

"That will take time we don't have," Tazuka pointed out.

"Then it looks like we're going in blind," Ryuki shrugged.

"That's okay!" Alex smiled. "We wouldn't be where we are if we weren't good at our jobs."

"True," Tazuka nodded. "We'd be dead."

A shiver ran down everyone's spines. Truer words have never been spoken. Still, their next objective was clear; gain entry into Sunshine Electronics.

* * *

Thank you Ten Faced Paladin!


	5. Blinded

Under the blanket of darkness, a set of six vehicles rolled up in front of Sunshine Electronics. The large glowing sign resembling a sun with the words "Sunshine Electronics" was a dead giveaway. All the vehicles were color coded, though three of them had a much brighter looking color scheme compared to the other three. They resembled futuristic motorcycles to any trained observer.

The Riders' exited their Knightriders as the canopies raised up while the Spies got off their own WOOHP issued bikes. When Takada had seen the bikes, he had to fight his ever present urge of taking them apart to see how they worked. He loved tinkering with gadgets.

"This...is Sunshine Electronics?" Clover asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I seriously think they should relocate."

The place they had come was nothing like the pictures on the website. It looked practically rundown and hadn't been operating for years. This was just strange.

Well, not as strange as monsters and Knights popping out of mirrors, but you get the idea.

Tazuka stated, "Stay in contact. We'll be in pairs. Sam, you're with me."

"I'll go in with Clover," Takada winked.

"I'll enter with Alex-chan," Ryuki said, taking the yellow-clad girl's hand into his and giving a squeeze. Alex blushed.

"Remember, be careful," Tazuka said. The Spies and the other two Riders nodded.

Breaking inside was the easy part. The door wasn't even locked so all they had to do was push it for it to open. Dust kicked up and Takada sneezed.

"This is no good for my nose," Takada remarked rubbing his nose. As the Dog Knight, his greatest asset was his sharp nose.

Tazuka's eyes glowed as he scanned the place. All he got was a flash of images, some taking place during the past really, on how the factory had been used to produce electrical appliances. Eventually, it went bankrupt and the site was abandoned. Of course, the sign was still working after all this time. He drew only one conclusion.

"Someone's here," Tazuka said. "Split up, and keep your eyes and ears opened." Despite being the new guy compared to Ryuki and Takada, Tazuka was a good leader as Ichijyo had observed. Ryuki was actually good on the field and didn't protest that Tazuka had been made field leader. Takada, on the other hand, had objected for a while before he finally accepted. Ichijyo, even if he was a jerk, was a good judge of character.

The place was dark and the only sources of light were flickering light bulbs. The machinery didn't look like it'd been operated in years and the conveyer belts were covered with blankets of thick dust.

"OK, this is way creepy," Clover said as she looked around.

"Well, Tazuka did say spread out, let's spread out," Takada said.

* * *

Tazuka and Sam walked towards the stock room where the materials needed to make the appliances were stored. Old cases of electronic components and the like were littered everywhere. In the dead of night, it was hard to tell what was in there.

"Creepy," Sam shivered. "It looks like no one has been here for years,"

"True," Tazuka nodded. "But then the sign wouldn't be working. Power companies are usually up to date about where power goes."

"So why do you think its still working?" the green-clad spy asked.

"Someone still owns the building," Tazuka answered. "It's as simple as that. Power companies probably don't ask that many questions. Either that or it is being stolen."

Sam nodded before she glanced at some of the boxes. With her curiosity getting aroused, she walked towards it and opened the box. Dust wafted up from the disturbance before she waved it away. What she saw made her gasp.

"Wait a second!" she gasped. "All these parts are brand new! The machines in this place are all rusted and old so why are the parts brand new?"

"Hmm?" Tazuka frowned as he gazed at the parts. "Perhaps this just where the parts are sent before they are taken to the real factory."

* * *

Takada kicked the door to the control room open and waved off the dust that flew up as the door opened. Clover had to cover her mouth as well.

"OK, this place is, like, so filthy," Clover said.

"Ahchoo!" Takada sneezed. "Yeah, I gotta agree with you on that, Clover. My nose doesn't like all the dust in this place." He went over to the computer and then found the power switch. It seemed too clean for this place and the computer looked it had been dusted. The keyboards were covered with dust but not as much as the floor. The seat was also strangely clean. "OK, someone had been here recently."

"The same who made that mall cop blind?" Clover inquired.

"Yep," Takada nodded as he sat down in front of the computer. "A really old model. Let's see if it still works." He pressed the switch and watched as the computer came to life. The screen was black with white lettering. "A computer made before CD's and DVD's. How primitive," he frowned. "Let's see if I can get anything out of it." He cracked his fingers before making them dance over the keyboard, bringing up several screens of data which he read.

Clover, meanwhile, was looking for clues. She looked down at the floor and saw some footprints on the dusty surface. She took out her X-Powder and scanned it. She knew it wasn't theirs. It was too small to be Takada's and too big to be hers, plus it looked male and her boots had high heels.

Takada's eyes scanned the data he'd inquired and he was surprised. "Woah. Whoever owned this place was a genius!" It took much to impress Takada, like the 'toys' in Smart Brain, but he rarely complimented anyone else's work. It was how his ego worked. He took out his phone and took out a cable from it which he then connected into an appropriate port. "Better save all this stuff for later."

* * *

Draco and Alex were in what could've been the manager's office. The place was a mess and matched the appearance of the whole factory. There was a lot of dust and the light bulb on a hanging lamp was flickering.

"We may find clues in the file cabinets," Ryuki said as he went over the cabinet. He tried to pull one of the drawers open but it was jammed. "Kuso," he cursed under his breath.

"Maybe I can help," Alex suggested. She reached into her hair and pulled out a hairclip. Ryuki blinked and watched as Alex put the hairclip into the keyhole and started to twist it around a little.

Click!

Alex smiled before pulling out her hairclip. She then pulled out the drawer. "Walla!"

"Alex-chan, I could kiss you," Ryuki said with a smile and then realized what he'd just said. "Ano…if you'd allow it."

"Of course I would," Alex smiled, stealing a quick kiss. He blushed a little before pulling out all the files. He began riffling through them. Alex started to open the other drawers, without her hairclip. Strangely enough, they were empty save for the one they'd just opened before.

Ryuki riffled through the files. Most of the words had faded or had been eaten by bugs or something. Cockroach, perhaps. He did find something interesting. It looked like plans for some sort of machine. His head than shot up.

"What was that?" he asked, drawing Alex's attention.

"What was what?" Alex asked.

Slipping the plans into his suit, Ryuki headed for the door which led into a catwalk. "I thought I heard something. Come on!" He ran.

"Wait for me!"

Both teens dashed out to the catwalk where Ryuki had heard the noises coming from. Ryuki was the first out and was already running with Alex close behind. Up ahead was a figure bathed in shadows. It was hard to tell if it was male or female, but there was someone there. The figure turned to look at them before turning to run again.

"Don't move!" Ryuki frowned as he generated a fireball. The shadowed figure stopped and turned back to face the two.

"We've got some questions for you," Alex frowned as she caught up with her boyfriend.

The shadowed figure didn't seem to hear her. Instead, the figure reached behind itself and pulled out something that looked a little like a weapon. Ryuki reacted first, seeing it as a threat.

"Look out!" he cried as he stepped in front of Alex.

A bright light came from the device and Alex heard Ryuki cry out in pain. The clanking of heavy boots could be heard running away, but that wasn't what Alex was focused on. Ryuki had fallen to his knees and was groaning while clutching his face.

"Leo?" she asked fearfully. "Say something. Are you okay?"

"Alex-chan?" Ryuki asked out of the blue. "Is that you?"

* * *

Tazuka's head whipped up when he saw a vision in his eyes. "Otouto," he breathed out before running out of the room.

"Tazuka! What-?" Sam began to ask.

"Something happened to Ryuki-kun!"

* * *

Takada's ears had picked up the cry of pain. He knew it anywhere and he became worried. Saving the data, he disconnected his phone before quickly dashing out of the room.

"Takada!" Clover cried out as he watched the genius leave. Where was he going?

* * *

Ryuki saw only darkness, even when he could feel that his eyelids were open. He palmed his face, trying to remove whatever veil had concealed his eyes, only to find nothing. His face paled as sweat rolled down his face. He finally screamed out, purely terrified, "My eyes! I can't see! I can't see!"

The others responded quickly as the Rider was on his knees, broken down as he palmed his hands over his eyes. Alex kneeled down quickly. "Leo! Leo!" she yelled to him.

"Alex-chan...?" he asked, slowly, raising his hand to take hers but he missed. Alex quickly grabbed his hand and he smiled. Alex smiled back but then gasped in shock at his completely white eyes.

"We have to get him out of here!" Alex shouted out, helping Ryuki to his feet and supporting him. "Now!"

"But, what about-?" Takada began but then met with a death glare from both Tazuka and Alex. "Right, I'll call for an extraction team." He pressed a few buttons on his SB-Watch.

"Nii-san, are you there?" Ryuki asked and Tazuka was immediately at his adoptive brother's side.

"I'm here, Ryuki-kun," Tazuka spoke. The sound of the voice calmed the Rider down, somewhat.

"What happened?"

"You shielded me and then we saw a bright light," Alex reminded. Ryuki remembered the flash coming from the weapon. It had been blinding and then Ryuki remembered seeing an instance of bright whiteness before his vision was lidded by dark blackness.

Sam and Clover were both worried. Like before, one of their own had been hurt. Takada shut off his com-link and cast Ryuki a glance. They had to leave and let the bad guy get away.

* * *

**--Smart Brain HQ--**

Ichijyo was going through some documents for the day. For the third time, he'd received an offer for lunch from a female in high regard. Another gold digger no doubt. No matter how much Megami told him that the girls in the letters might not be gold diggers, he wouldn't go out with them. Besides, he was too busy to even consider a relationship.

As he was throwing the offer out, his cell phone began to ring. Thankful for the distraction, he pulled it out and hit the receive button.

"Shadowcobra here," Ichijyo answered.

"_It's Pluto,_" the voice of the Dog Knight came from the phone. "_We've got a little problem, an extraction team worthy one._"

THAT got Ichijyo's attention. The Masked Riders had never needed an extraction team unless something unexpected had happened. The corporate head thought that this mission was going to be simple compared to some of their usual missions, but apparently he was wrong.

"What happened?" asked Ichijyo. He was almost dreading the answer.

"_Well,_" Takada answered. "_We got to Sunshine Electronics but found the place to be abandoned at first glance. We found out some clues to otherwise, but I think Ryuki found our guy._"

"What happened?" Ichijyo pressed. He was getting angry.

"_Well,_" Takada sighed. "_…Ryuki lost his sight. He's completely blind._"

Ichijyo froze slightly. That was not what he had been hoping to hear. If anything, that was something that he had considered to be one of the worst things. It was definitely worth getting an extraction team out to them. He was already preparing to send the message to the team leaders. Draco needed extraction and he needed it now! Of course, there was something that was leaving a dark shadow over his mind.

Emiko was going to kill someone.


	6. Glasses and Crystal Clarity

"OK, take him to the bed, gently," Takada instructed as he and Tazuka helped to take Ryuki over to a bed in the infirmary. The extraction team had picked them up and brought them to Smart Brain. By them, it also meant the Spies.

Alex had a look of distress on her face as she watched Ryuki being laid set on the bed. A blindfold was used to cover his eyes so that no more damage could be done to his eyes. Alex just knew this was all her fault.

Ryuki had panicked for a little while but was now calm. Panicking would not help him and he knew that. Still, being blind was not something he particularly enjoyed. He sat up on the bed.

Takada removed the blindfold and took hold of several medical devices, some Sam had never seen before. He seemed to be able to use them well as he examined Ryuki's eyes.

"Crud," Takada grumbled as he backed away.

"So, what's wrong?" Ryuki asked.

"That beam must've burned your eyes from the inside out. That's why you're blind," Takada stated.

"Can we fix this?" Ryuki asked, worried.

Takada didn't know what to say. Should be tell his friend the truth.

"Oh, Leo!" Alex went over and hugged him. Ryuki felt her warm tears and hugged her. "It's all my fault!"

"It was instinct, Alex-chan," he spoke. "I had to protect you."

"But you-"

"Hush now."

The peaceful moment lasted for a few seconds, but even bliss would not last any longer.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Ichijyo spoke as he entered the infirmary. He appeared far too calm when one of his friends right now was blind. "So, you got any data from that place?"

"We did," Takada nodded. "It's being analyzed right now."

"I see," Ichijyo nodded. His eyes went over to the Dragon Rider and Yellow Spy. He walked over and said, "Maybe I can help."

"You can?" Alex asked, wiping a tear away.

"Just, let me do what I can," Ichijyo said. "Ryuki, I need you to trust me."

"I do," Ryuki nodded. Breathing in softly, Ichijyo placed his palms over Ryuki's eyes.

"What is he doing?" Sam asked Tazuka and then her eyes widened when Ichijyo's hands began to glow."

"Did I forget to mention Ichijyo is also a healer?" Tazuka commented. Sam just watched, speechless, as the glow brightened.

Ichijyo removed his palms from Ryuki's eyes. "Alright, how is it?"

Ryuki opened his eyes. They had their color back, but they were dull. He looked at his hands. "Everything looks so blurry."

"You're not blind anymore!" Alex hugged him.

Ryuki smiled. "Arigatou, Ichijyo-san."

Ichijyo didn't respond, "You can't go on this mission anymore."

"Why not?" Takada asked. "I mean, he's not blind anymore."

"Even so, he's already been compromised," Ichijyo said. "He needs to rest after this ordeal." His eyes turned towards Ryuki, "And that's an order. You are officially off this case."

"But-" Takada tried to protest.

"It's alright, Takada-san," Ryuki said softly. "I guess I could take a break from this mission."

"Good," Ichijyo nodded, actually glad that Ryuki was taking his orders seriously. "You all should return to your villas and await further orders. I'll also arrange for a replacement." Turning away, Ichijyo then walked out of the infirmary.

Tazuka was grateful that Ichijyo was able to repair nearly all the damage. Maybe it was because Ryuki was only blinded recently and could be helped. As soon as they cracked this case, maybe they could help the other victims too.

Clover frowned, "What a jerk. He's so…cold."

"I hear ya," Takada agreed.

"Ichijyo is just…different," Ryuki said in defense. He knew he needed to get contact lenses or at least glasses. He wasn't sure how bad his eyesight was, so an appointment with an eye doctor would be required. He knew what he had to do.

He had to call his mother.

She was not going to be happy.

* * *

"And that is what happened," Ichijyo finished explaining to Jerry whose face was on his computer screen.

"_Oh dear_," Jerry frowned. "_That is difficult. I'm glad you managed to a least give Ryuki a chance to get his sight back_."

"It was difficult," Ichijyo sighed. "I had no idea where the damage was so I had to go over the entire eye just to heal the damage. It is much easier when I know exactly what has been damaged."

"_I see_," Jerry nodded. "_Then we might be able to reverse the process of we find out how they cause this affliction in the first place_."

"Takada saw to that," the head of Smart Brain Japan explained. "Hopefully the data he downloaded will set us in the right direction."

"_We can only hope_," Jerry sighed. "_How is everyone taking this?_"

"Ryuki is taking it well, better than the others anyway," Ichijyo shrugged. "Takada, Clover, and Sam are very concerned. Tazuka is like a brother to Ryuki and is probably one of the most worried of us all."

"_And Alex?_" Jerry pressed.

"Probably taking it the worst, even if she isn't showing it," Ichijyo answered. "The guilt is coming off her in waves since Ryuki had been protecting her at the time. She is also fawning over him like he's made of china glass because of her feelings for him."

"_Well, Alex is the most excitable of the three_," Jerry nodded. "_However, with her obvious affection for Ryuki in sight, I think I might have to have her stay with Ryuki for now, for both professional and personal reasons._"

"Agreed," Ichijyo nodded. "Her distress over what happened and her desire to help will influence her judgment. Besides, knowing she's okay with keep Ryuki happy and vice versa."

Jerry smiled. As cold as Ichijyo tried to keep himself, he still had a very warm heart. Having known him for so long allowed the head of WOOHP to see it very easily.

* * *

"Ryu-chan!!" a female voice cried out through the infirmary walls.

"Nani?!" Ryuki blinked as he sat up.

"Huh?" Alex mumbled as she slowly began to wake up.

After Ichijyo had left to get preparations, Sam, Clover, Takada, and Tazuka left to give Ryuki some time alone. Alex had tried to apologize profusely, but Ryuki wouldn't hear of it. Eventually they both settled down to rest and fell asleep enjoying each other's company even if one couldn't properly see the other.

The door to the room burst open as a woman dashed through. Alex easily recognized her. She was not only a famous fashion designer, but they had met before during the last mission that the Riders and Spies had worked together on. She was Emiko Narukawa Hasuma _and_ Ryuki's mother.

"Oh, my little Ryu-chan!" Emiko cried as she was instantly at her son's side and glomped him.

"Okaasan?" Ryuki mumbled through the body that had grabbed him. He had literally hadn't seen it coming.

"Yes, Ryu-chan," Emiko nodded. Tears were leaking out of her eyes. Her little baby boy had been turned practically blind and she really couldn't do anything about it. "It's me."

"Okaasan, I've told you not to call me that anymore," Ryuki said as he struggled out of his mother's embrace, embarrassed by the old childhood nickname. Of course, Alex had heard it. She might end up using it as a sign of affection.

"Of course," Emiko said, wiping her eyes away. She was glad to see that he was alright, save for the dull color of his eyes. "I'm just glad you didn't…" She let that statement hang.

"Mrs. Hasuma," Alex said, drawing the older woman's attention to herself. "It's my fault he got hurt. He was protecting me, and-"

"It isn't your fault," Emiko assured her, "Don't go thinking that."

"But-"

"Alex-chan, I told you before that it was not your fault. I'm happy to protect the people I care for. You know that," Ryuki assured her.

"Leo…"

Emiko smiled softly and then remembered something before digging into her purse, "Oh, I got these for you." She took out the item and put them on Ryuki's face. "Ta-dah!"

"Sugoi! I can see again!" Ryuki said as he touched the glasses. "Arigatou, okaasan!"

"Hello, we are back!" Takada announced as he came through the door, with Tazuka, Sam and Clover behind him. When he saw Ryuki, he froze…

And then broke out in a loud howl of laughter.

"Nani?" Ryuki cocked his head to the side. Why was Takada laughing?

"Oh…my…gosh," Clover giggled. She was apparently trying incredibly hard not to burst out laughing like Takada was.

"What is it?" Ryuki asked, getting slightly irritated. Just what was so funny? "Why are you laughing?"

"Um…-snort- nothing" Sam quivered. She was having some success in keeping her laughs in, but it was a losing battle.

Ryuki heaved a sigh and looked to Alex, who was blinking in surprise at her boyfriend. She wasn't laughing, but the shocked silence was starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Alex-chan, what's wrong?" he asked, hoping for an answer.

"Um…" Alex frowned. "Uh…your glasses."

"Huh?" Ryuki blinked. "My glasses?"

Ryuki got up from his bed and walked over to the other end of the room. There was a mirror situated on the wall and so he could see what was so funny. As he managed to step in front of it, his jaw dropped at what was facing him.

"NANI!!"

Ryuki's face was adorned with a pair of glasses that had lenses that were incredibly thick. They magnified his eyes to a level where they looked like searchlights. It didn't help that the light was reflecting off of them and made him look even more like an alien.

"I dug those out when I got the news," Emiko smiled. "Ryu-chan wore them when he was ten years old. I knew it would be nice to have them packed away instead of thrown out like he wanted."

"Okaasaaaaaaaaaannn!" Ryuki moaned.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Takada laughed as he rolled on the floor. "Oh Kami-sama! It's too much! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Ryuki groaned in agitation. It was the third grade all over again.

"What is all the noise about?" Ichijyo asked as he stepped into the infirmary. When he got a look at Ryuki, he realized what was wrong. "Oh." Though his ever stoic expression was present, the edge of his lips was twitching painfully. He too found Ryuki's current appearance to be quite…amusing.

Of course, when Emiko locked her eyes on him, his skin paled. Emiko Narukawa Hasuma's anger was legendary, and added with her remarkable ability to channel electricity made her all the scarier, especially when her loved ones were involved. He could see the electricity crackling around her fingers and in her eyes. He knew the look all too well. It was the look of an overprotective mother whose child had gotten hurt.

"You told me you were going to take care of him!" Emiko snapped before zapping his feet. Ichijyo jumped out of the way. "I always knew this was dangerous!"

"Can we talk about this like civilized human beings?" Ichijyo asked, clearly scared as he ducked under a bolt of lightning. "Please?"

The Spies just looked on in surprise as Takada continued laughing, now at Ichijyo instead of Ryuki.

"His mother has powers," Tazuka explained. "She can generate electricity."

"Well, it does make sense if Leo can throw fireballs," Alex responded. "In a way."

Sam was getting a headache. She had been a spy for years and she should be used to crazy things like these by now.

Tazuka went over to Ryuki. "The glasses, Ryuki-kun," Tazuka requested. Ryuki removed the thick glasses and handed them over to Tazuka, who now looked like a blurry blob "And your goggles," Ryuki did as told without question. "I think we can figure something out."

"Don't just stand there laughing, mutt!" Ichijyo yelled, dodging another lightning bolt. "Do something!"

"I am," Takada said as he pointed the camera lens of his phone on the spectacle. "This is so gonna rock on YouTube!"

"MONGREL!!"

* * *

An hour after successfully calming an angry Emiko down, Tazuka returned with Ryuki's goggles. "Here, try these on," Tazuka said as he slipped the goggles on. The lenses weren't transparent anymore, but Ryuki could see through the opaque red lenses quite clearly. Also, his eyes didn't look incredibly large anymore.

"How do I look?" Ryuki asked.

Being the most fashion savvy, Clover said, "Well, it's better than those glasses at least."

"I had Prof. Murata refit Ryuki-kun's goggles with new lenses. Now he won't look so ridiculous," Tazuka explained. "This is a much better alternative."

"Arigatou, niisan," Ryuki bowed gratefully.

"So, now what?" Takada asked. "I mean, I doubt the kid's mom is gonna let him go on this mission now, eyesight fixed or whatever."

"You don't have to," Ichijyo spoke, entering the infirmary again with Emiko. "Mrs. Hasuma and I have talked about this and so Ryuki is officially off this case."

"Nani?" Ryuki responded, shocked. "Demo, okaasan…"

"You need to rest," Emiko said. "So you're coming back home with me."

"Also, Alex will be assigned to care for him while he's on leave," Ichijyo continued.

Alex thought over the prospects of being Ryuki's nurse. Despite being off the mission, this gave her the chance to spend more time with her boyfriend.

"Wait, Alex is part of _our_ team," Sam objected, "You can't just pull her off a mission."

"I already discussed it with Jerry," Ichijyo said, "And, as long as you're allied with _my_ team, you follow _my_ orders."

"No way!" Clover stated, "I, like, seriously object this! We need Alex!"

"Girls, I'm okay with this," Alex said. "It's my fault that he's like this."

"Alex-chan, I told you not to blame yourself," Ryuki reminded.

"I still feel guilty about it."

"But, rest assured, Jerry has sent a replacement," Ichijyo said. Another person entered, dressed similarly in the Spies' uniforms, but this one in blue.

"Hey, girls!" the blue-clad Spy waved. "It's been awhile."


	7. I Have Her

"Britney!" Clover and Sam yelled out, pleasantly surprised. They ran over to her. This was a pleasant reunion to the two girls, remembering the last mission they had together.

"Britney!?" Alex yelled out in shock. A deep feeling of envy was starting to rise up inside of her at the sight of the blue clad Spy. Unlike her friends, Alex recalled the last mission they had together, feeling as if Britney was going to replace her again.

"Hey, long time no see," Britney beamed.

"Who's the cutie," spoke Takada, earning a glare from Clover and Ichijyo. He sweated, "Um…I mean…great to have you onboard!" He thought to himself, '_Don't screw this up, Takada._'

"With Alex and Ryuki off this case, I asked Jerry to send Britney here to assist us," Ichijyo informed them, "And I'm coming along as well."

Sam and Clover blinked.

"What?" Ichijyo questioned, annoyed by their looks.

"You're coming along?" Clover asked skeptically, "As if!"

"I am capable of going on missions, Clover. I just usually get stuck with all the paperwork." Ichijyo hissed.

"That's true," Takada agreed. "Before Tazuka here joined, old snake-face here always went on missions since three operatives are usually needed in a team."

Ichijyo took offense to Takada calling him snake-face but managed to calm down a bit. He would get his as payback later."As I was saying, I am coming along with you on your mission, so I suggest that you all would follow my orders."

Clover frowned. She really didn't feel like working with Ichijyo. Britney picked up on this and decided to lighten the mood.

"Oh, come on, Clover. Cousin Ichijyo isn't so bad!" Britney said pleasantly. Everyone gawked at both her and Ichijyo when they heard this. Ichijyo palmed his face grimly. He'd wanted to keep that information a secret but Britney was proud to announce it.

"COUSIN ICHIJYO!?"

"She's from my mother's side of the family," Ichijyo elaborated. "We've known each other for years." He gave Britney a tender smile, "Beat me at Chess one time too."

Britney winked at her cousin, "That's right, cousin."

"OK, this is a lot to take in," Takada said, eyes wide. It completely blew his mind that someone like Ichijyo could be related to someone so…normal looking. "You two are related?" Britney nodded. Ichijyo just shrugged.

"And I didn't even see this coming, and I'm a precog," said Tazuka. His visions hadn't prepared him for this.

"Hai, hai," Ryuki nodded, surprised by the revelation. He always expected any other relatives of Ichijyo's to be dark and a little unusual. Then again, they'd met his sister and were surprised to see how different the two siblings were.

Alex frowned as she crossed her arms. She liked Britney, but not so much. The girl was just so perfect and even nearly replaced her on her team. But, to be fair, she'd wanted to quit for messing up a lot, but why did they have to call Britney. Now what was Alex supposed to do? She then glanced at Ryuki and smiled, remembering why. Maybe having Britney take her place just this once would be OK.

"Well, now that we have that settled, let's go," Ichijyo said.

"Very well," Emiko nodded. "Ryuki-kun, let's go home."

"Um, okaasan," Ryuki said, "About that, can I suggest something?"

Emiko smiled tenderly, "Certainly."

* * *

"I can't believe your mom let you stay here," said Alex as she and Ryuki went up the stairs to his room. They were back in Beverly Hills and at the Riders' villa. Both had gotten out of their uniforms and into their civilian clothes. Alex had on a sleeveless red blouse that showed a bit of midriff and stylish pants. He was wearing a short sleeved black T-shirt with a dragon on it and blue jeans. Alex noted that a majority of his wardrobe was accessorized by dragons.

"She's not the only member of this family that can be persuasive," said Ryuki. He'd also attempted his own version of the infamous 'puppy-dog-eyes' and his mother had caved. "And, she loves me too much to deny me anything."

"You must get a lot of presents," said Alex.

"I don't usually use it unless it's an emergency," Ryuki shrugged. "I usually do it so she allows me to go on dangerous mission. It nearly didn't work when I wanted to join Smart Brain since it was too dangerous."

"My mom would kill me if she found out I was a Spy." They now stood in front of his door and he opened it up. "Well, here we are."

Ryuki asked Alex, "Are you alright with being off the case? I know you love adventure."

"There are things I love more than just adventure," Alex replied. Ryuki's cheek went red. Had she said 'love'? "And, well, you need to be taken care of."

"I think okaasan has that handled," said Ryuki as he looked out the window to see the 2 bodyguards posted outside the house. "Okaasan, must you bring along the bodyguards?" The bodyguards were women dressed in black and sharp business suits and wearing sunglasses. They were all very physically attractive. The truth was that their family had a whole army of bodyguards.

"I think it's sweet that she'd go to such length to protect you," said Alex.

"I can take care of myself," he insisted, frowning while producing a small fireball before extinguishing it. "I'm not a baby anymore."

"I know you're not, but you're also her only son so she wants to keep you safe," Alex explained. Ryuki sighed.

"And I can't fault her for that," Ryuki smiled. "Okaasan is okaasan, after all."

"And she's cooking down in the kitchen," said Alex, a little surprised. "I thought she was gonna bring her cook here."

"Okaasan prefers to cook herself when she's not busy. She did that a lot back with…" Ryuki trailed off, letting the sentence hang.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked.

"Sorry, I was going to say otousan, but…" Alex patted his shoulder.

"Still hurts?"

"A little. The fact is that I'm afraid I may start forgetting what he looks like." He gestured to his wall of photographs and gestured to one old faded one, "All I have is this old picture of him."

Alex walked over and looked at it. "Wow, you really do look like your dad." That was true. Aside from the color of the hair, Ryuki and Kyousuke looked eerily similar. "So, your eyes come from your dad."

"Okaasan tells me that too," said Ryuki, smiling a bit, "And I got my hair color from him."

"His hair's black," Alex pointed out.

"But not the bangs. It's a recessive family trait."

"Oh," Alex accepted. Ryuki was a natural redhead then.

"Well," Ryuki said as he put down Alex's bag, "We should go downstairs to see how okaasan is doing."

"Right, let's go," Alex said as she took his hand and pulled him towards the door. He smiled at her.

* * *

"Why are we back here again?" Clover asked in disgust.

"We've already been here," added Takada.

"Picking up where you all left off," said Ichijyo coldly.

The Spies and Riders were once again in front of Sunshine Electronics. This time, however, Ichijyo and Britney had come along in place of Alex and Ryuki. Like the other Riders, Ichijyo wore a black jumpsuit, with purple gloves and boots.

"Like we had a choice," Sam spoke up. "Ryuki got hurt."

"Which is why we need to look for more clues," said Ichijyo. "You must've missed something or even nearly found something which would require the criminal to show himself and blind Ryuki." He walked forwards but stopped in mid-step. He looked over his shoulder at the others, "Well? Are you coming or are you all just going to stand there and do nothing?"

Takada and Tazuka followed while the girls hung back for awhile. Clover bristled, crossing her arms, "Geez, what a jerk."

"Oh, Cousin Ichijyo isn't all bad," Britney defended. "He can be nice too, y'know?"

"Sorry, Brit, but I can't see him being nice," Clover said sorely. "He did ruin my hair."

"He told me," Britney nodded, "And forgive me, but I kinda laughed."

Clover fumed and let out a, "Hmph!" before following after the guys.

"That bad, huh?" Britney asked Sam.

"Remember, Clover takes her appearance seriously," Sam informed Britney.

"OK," Britney nodded, "So, what's new? You both seem really chummy with Takada and Tazuka."

"Well…" Sam played with her hair, "Tazuka and I are kinda dating. Same with Takada and Clover."

Britney confessed, "I'm jealous. If Ichijyo wasn't my cousin, I would so date him."

Sam gave Britney a deadpan look, "You would, huh?" She couldn't believe it.

"Well, I used to have this huge crush on him, but we were cousins so it might've been really awkward," Britney added sheepishly.

Sam had to agree. Ichijyo was good looking, but his attitude left little to be desired. "You really like him, huh?"

"He's family. Plus, what's not to like about him? He's really smart and even if he doesn't show it much he does care about others. Why do you think he wanted to join us in this mission?"

Sam never thought of that. "We should follow them," said Sam.

"Right, let's go."

A pair of glowing eyes followed as the Spies and Riders entered the factory.

* * *

"Oh, Ryuki-kun, Alex-chan," said Emiko with a wide smile as she set the table. "I'm almost done with dinner." She had on an apron over her usual clothes.

Ryuki sniffed the air, "Smells good, okaasan."

"It does, doesn't it?" Emiko said as she walked over to her son. She then pinched his cheeks, "Anything for my little Ryu-chan." Alex giggled. Ryuiki moaned in embarrassment.

"Okaasan…" Emiko released her hold on his cheeks. "Not in front of Alex-chan."

"Alright," Emiko sighed. "Oh, by the way, this just came in the mail." Emiko picked up a small sand colored envelope from the table. "It looks like it's for you."

"A letter for me?" asked Ryuki as his mother handed him the envelope. "Wonder who's it from?" He inspected the envelope. No address, just his name, and no stamp. It looked like it'd been slipped into the mail along the other letters and not by a postal worker.

"Open it and see," Alex insisted as she looked over his shoulder. He smiled at her and shook the envelope. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. There was something inside.

"What's wrong, Ryuki-kun?" Emiko asked.

"There's something inside this envelope," he said. He tilted the envelope and a pair of pink butterfly hairclips dropped into his hand. His eyes widened in recognition. He knew those hairclips.

"Hairclips?" Alex blinked in confusion, "Who would send you hairclips?" But then she felt Ryuki trembling. "Leo? What's wrong?" Her voice was filled with concern.

"Ryuki-kun?" his mother asked, worried too.

Ryuki reached inside the envelope and pulled out a note. On it were three ominous words:

**I HAVE HER**

The note included the drawing of a scorpion.


	8. Saving Caitlin

"Caitlin," Ryuki let out, horrified, "No…" His eyes were wide as saucers under his goggles and he was covered in cold sweat. He turned the note over and saw a map. He quickly memorized it and went straight for the door.

"Leo! Wait!" Alex called to him.

"Chotto matte, Ryuki-kun!" his mother called out to him.

However, both women were ignored as he stepped out the door. There was a commotion. There was yelling but then it stopped. Alex and Emiko exchanged worried looks and then they heard the sound of a motorcycle starting up. They both stormed out of the villa to see Ryuki racing away into the night.

"Where is he going?" Emiko asked as she walked over to her bodyguards, who'd been knocked out, obviously, by Ryuki. She squatted down to check on them. "What's wrong with him?"

Alex looked down to see the note. There had to be some sort of clue on it. She picked it up and looked at the map. She then realized where Ryuki was headed, "The mall!"

"But why the mall?" Emiko questioned.

Alex narrowed her eyes in determination, "That's what we're going to find out."

* * *

**Beverly Hills Mall-10:55 PM**

The mall was already closed for the night but Ryuki wasn't interested in shopping. He had other concerns. He pulled over in front of the building before dismounting from his bike. He removed his helmet and dropped it next to his bike. He could pick it up later. Now was the time for something more important.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the hairclips. He knew who they belonged too. It wasn't something he could miss. These were Caitlin's hairclips, the same ones he'd seen her wear so many times.

He approached the entrance. Locked. There was no way to enter, at least normally. Concentrating, the Dragon Rider covered himself in flames and then teleported straight inside the building.

He reappeared inside the building, eyes narrowed as he looked around for his target. As expected, the place was empty. There were no guards, which was strange. Maybe they were already…

"So, you decided to drop by," spoke a voice that filled Ryuki with hatred and anger, "I'm glad you got my message." Ryuki spun around to see Asakura, sitting on a bench and drinking from a can of beer.

"Where is she?" Ryuki demanded, clenching his fists. He would beat the answers out of Asakura if he had to.

Asakura tossed the can of beer into trashcan before grinning at Ryuki. That grin caused an unpleasant tingle to run up Ryuki's spine. He hated that grin. Asakura always wore that grin before he started hurting people. It was the same grin he'd worn when he killed all those people and Striker.

Ryuki so wanted to wipe that disgusting grin off Asakura's face.

"She? Hm…can you be more specific?" Asakura asked. Ryuki wasn't in the mood for games.

"You know who! Where's Caitlin!?" Ryuki asked.

"Oh, she's around," Asakura said as he approached Ryuki. Ryuki didn't budge from his spot, though his knees were shaking. "I can see why you like her. She's got nice skin and hair."

"If you touch her, I swear that I'll-" Ryuki began to threaten.

"Do what? Kill me?" Asakura mocked. "You and I both know that's never going to happen, little dragon. You don't have it in you. Given the chance you wouldn't even have the guts to kill me."

Ryuki knew Asakura was telling the truth. Unlike him, Ryuki was no killer and never will be. Of course, that didn't mean Ryuki wasn't going to fight him. "So, why all this?"

"I wanted to pick up where we left off. I feel that it would be fitting to fight in the mall again," Asakura explained arms spread wide. "Oh, by the way, I like your new girl. She looks yummy."

"Urusai!" Ryuki roared, "You stay away from her!"

Asakura enjoyed pushing Ryuki's buttons. He knew that threatening the people close to the Dragon Knight could get him to snap. That was the way Asakura wanted him.

"Why don't you make me?" Asakura challenged, stepping backwards. He summoned his belt and wrapped it around his waist.

"Alright then," Ryuki said as he whipped out his belt and then slung it around his waist. He then took out his Zodiac Deck. Asakura did the same.

"Henshin!" Ryuki called out. "Zodiac Force! Dragon!"

"Zodiac Force! Scorpio!" Asakura called out.

They snapped their decks to their belts and charged straight for one another as glass sharps, fire and sand engulfed them. When they reached one another, they were already clad in their armor and throwing the first punch.

* * *

The limo pulled over in front of the mall and both Alex and Emiko exited the vehicle, along with a couple of bodyguards who were armed. They spotted Ryuki's bike but no Ryuki.

"Stay behind us, madam," spoke one of the bodyguards protectively. "We shall go and see if the young master is inside."

"No, I am going inside with Alex-chan," spoke Emiko, determined.

"I think you should stay out here," spoke Alex, donned in full spy gear. "It could get dangerous."

Emiko's eyes and hands crackled with electricity. "When I get my hands on the person hurting my son, it **is **going to get **dangerous**."

Alex gulped. She really couldn't argue with a woman who could generate electricity at will. It was safer just to agree with her. "OK, right. Well, come on. I know a way where we can sneak inside." They then heard a loud commotion inside the mall. They could hear things breaking inside. "And I think we should do that fast!"

* * *

Draco was thrown into a display window for women's clothing, shattering the glass. He dug himself out of the pile of clothing that had fallen on top of him in time to see Scorpios coming down on him with his scythe. Draco grabbed a mannequin head and hurled it at Scorpios. Scorpios got knocked in the head and Draco used the distraction to tackle into Scorpios' body.

Both Knights were battling under a special rule they had agreed upon. Neither of them was allowed to use their Zodiac Powers or any other powers they had, and were not allowed to use their cards. They were going to fight with what they had, only with their armor as protection. Of course, Scorpios had his scythe while Draco had no weapons. The only reason he would agree to such terms was because Caitlin's life was in danger.

Scorpios threw his scythe aside and grabbed Draco by the shoulders before smashing his knee into Draco's chest. Draco got knocked backwards by the powerful knee-strike but then Scorpios followed up with a vicious jab into Draco's stomach. The impact left Draco gasping for air and Scorpios then kicked Draco hard in the hand, causing him to fall to the floor, facedown. Scorpios then walked towards Draco before using his foot to flip Draco onto his back. He then began to stomp on Draco's chest, causing Draco to yell out in pain.

"Oh, I love to hear you scream," Scorpios said sadistically as he ground his boot into Draco's chest. He started stomping on him again and the force of the strikes cracked the floor. Draco grabbed Scorpios' foot and then threw him backwards before flipping back to his feet. Scorpios landed roughly on the floor but managed to regain his balance.

Draco roared and then jumped up, landing a flying kick to Scorpios' chest. Scorpion then got hit with several powerful punches to the face, chest and stomach. Draco then used a side kick to cause Scorpios to crash into another store window. Angered, Scorpios got to his feet and roared, charging straight for Draco.

The two Knights continued to pummel one another to oblivion. Neither one of them was going to go down. Draco wasn't going to lose because Caitlin's life was in jeopardy and Scorpios wasn't going to just let this 'little dragon' win.

Enraged, Scorpios grabbed Draco by the throat and smashed his head into the floor. "Why won't you die!?' he screamed out. Draco tried to pry Scorpios' arm off but the Scorpion Knight was too strong and was squeezing the life out of him. "You, die!"

"Not…a…chance!" Draco gasped out as he aimed his SB-Watch at Scorpios' face and pressed a button. There was a bright flash from the watch's face and Scorpios screamed as he was momentarily blinded. Draco pushed himself back to his feet. From the corner of his eye, he could see Scorpios' discarded scythe. He then slowly made his way towards it.

Scorpios managed to regain his vision and snarled at Draco, who had his back turn to him. He then rushed at Draco. Draco spun around and slashed Scorpios across the chest with his own scythe. This shocked the psychotic Knight. Draco then repeatedly slashed at Scorpios. Sparks flew off the Scorpion Knight's armor as Draco continued his assault. He was not going to let Scorpios go just like that.

Now, Scorpios was regretting the deal, which they'd made under the Code. Both were not allowed to use their powers and cards, but it would appear that Draco had the upper hand even without them. Neither of them could go against the Code without dire consequences. Scorpios did not want his rights and life stripped by breaking such a powerful Code.

Draco elbowed Scorpios in the faceplate, causing it to crack before slashing him in the chest again. There were multiple gashes on the chest armor of the Scorpion Knight. Draco then dealt a powerful blow by kicking Scorpios hard in the stomach and then kneeing him in the face when he doubled over. Scorpios ended up on his back. Draco walked over and pressed Scorpios down to the floor with his foot. He had the sharp tip of Scorpios' scythe aimed at the Knight's throat. Scorpios looked up to see Draco's visor glowing red unlike the usual green and felt an all too human chill run up his spine. For the first time in his entire wretched life he felt fear like no other. He could feel Draco's killing intent and it felt…demonic.

"Now, time to finish this," Draco raised up the scythe and was ready to bring it down.

"STOP!"

"YAMETTE!"

Draco froze and then he looked up to saw Alex and Emiko running towards him. "Alex-chan? Okaasan?" What were they doing here?

"Don't do it, Leo," Alex begged. "You're not a killer. We'll call WOOHP. They'll take this guy away."

"Just, please, don't turn into a killer," his mother pleaded, eyes filled with tears.

Draco regained the green glow in his visor and then realized what he'd been ready to do. What was he becoming? He looked down at Scorpios who was looking back at him through his cracked visor. Asakura's armor vanished seconds later. Draco gripped the scythe tightly before he roared and brought it down on Asakura.

Alex and Emiko screamed but then they looked closely to see that Draco had stabbed the scythe next to Asakura's head. The blade had gone deep into the floor and also had the Scorpion Knight pinned to the floor by his jacket. Asakura wasn't getting up without his powers anytime soon, which he'd sealed off with the deal they'd made by the Code. Draco then got out his SB-Cell and converted it into a gun. He set it to stun and aimed it at Asakura. He pulled the trigger and a beam stunned the Scorpion Knight, rendering him frozen. Draco removed his foot from Asakura's chest and then walked over to Alex and his mother. He removed his helmet from his head and looked at them. Alex hugged him tight.

"I'm sorry I scared you both," spoke Ryuki regrettably. Emiko sighed, relieved. "I had a good reason though." He opened up his hand to reveal the hairclips. "I need to find her."

"Well, maybe that other fellow can tell you where she is," said Emiko but when she looked again, Asakura had vanished. "He's gone."

"Coward," Ryuki growled in disgust. He wasn't surprised that the stun ray had worn off. He knew that this wouldn't be the last he saw of his nemesis.

"Who was that?" Alex asked.

"Someone that should've been taken care of a long time ago," said Ryuki as his armor vanished. He looked down at the hairclips in his hand.

"Those are Caitlin's right?" Alex asked. He nodded.

"Hold on," he told her, "I'm going to try something." He closed his eyes and concentrated on his chi and then on the residual chi in the hairclips. He used some of Yaminekoryu's chi to help as well and the chi trail started to form. Only Ryuki could see and feel it. Those who weren't trained in their chi could not. He then opened his eyes. "I know where she is."

Draco walked over to the clothing store he'd crashed into and walked through what remained of the display window, which were now shards of shattered glass. He was careful of where he stepped. He approached the changing rooms and then stood in front of one door. He pushed it open.

There was Caitlin, with her arms tied up behind her and her ankles tied together. She was also gagged. Tears messed up her mascara. He kneeled down and told her soothingly, "It's alright. He won't hurt you anymore." He gently untied her legs and arms before untying the gag around her mouth. He then helped her back to her feet. He reached into his pocket and took out the hairclips. "These are yours, I believe."

Caitlin looked over in surprise at her rescuer. The red hair and goggles caught her attention. She had seen him at the mall.

And then he looked at her, eyes filled with concern as he stood before her.

She had seen him before…in her dreams.

At first, she had dismissed them but then they grew frequent and she wished she could know who he really was. When she first saw him at the mall with that other girl, it hadn't clicked. His face had been blurry or hidden from her.

But now, she could see it…and she knew it was the boy of her dreams.

"Caitlin-chan," he said, "Daijoubu desu ka?"

Caitlin didn't know Japanese, but then the tone was so familiar, as was his face, his stance, and his behavior. Sure she had dated a lot of boys but none of them ever showed this level of concern before, or projected such familiarity.

She just gazed up at him, silently, raising a hand to touch his cheek. Ryuki stood stationary as she ran her fingers down his face. He was so warm…

A tear began to fall from her left eye and then another tear fell from her right as images flooded her mind.

She smiled and spoke, "You came back…" She then hugged him tight, burying her face into his chest. "You came back."

Ryuki smiled slightly, enjoying the sensation as he wrapped his arms around her waist in a comforting manner.

Alex and Emiko watched the exchange with different expressions. Alex looked slightly upset at seeing another girl hugging her boyfriend but then she remembered what had transpired between them. They had something special but other things got in the way. She knew Leo would always have a place for Caitlin in his heart.

Emiko had tears in her eyes and a smile gracing her lips as she watched the happy reunion.

* * *

Asakura stumbled away from the mall as fast as his legs could carry him. For once in his entire life, he felt pain and wretchedness. It wasn't in guilt of his actions though. It was because of how the battle went.

He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten hurt like this in a fight. He had always fought like a beast and came out on top no matter what. The pain only increased when he remembered that it was the little dragon who had done this to him.

Speaking of the other Zodiac Knight, just what the hell happened to him? He had never seen his soft-hearted opponent fight like that before. He was giving off an aura that Asakura had to admit scared him, which was the source of his wretched feeling. He had felt small and weak in that aura. It was a feeling he swore would never touch him after the house fire which changed his life.


	9. Heartache

Alex frowned as she watched from the kitchen area with Emiko. After rescuing Caitlin and getting her checked up at a nearby clinic, they brought her back to the villa to rest. After her ordeal she deserved as much. Right now she was sitting at the sofa in the living room with Ryuki right next to her and they were talking.

Alex knew Ryuki and Caitlin used to date but it would appear they still had some feelings for each other. It wasn't very obvious but when Caitlin's eyes sparkled, she knew the girl was in love with her boyfriend. It was the same sparkle Alex's eyes had when she first gazed upon Ryuki.

Emiko had prepared some snacks, biscuits and tea, for Caitlin and Ryuki. As she set the tray on the counter, she noticed the way Alex was looking at the pair on the sofa.

"Are you alright, Alex-chan?" Emiko asked the Spy.

"Oh, I'm fine," Alex said, faking a smile. Emiko frowned.

"Are you?" Emiko questioned skeptically. "You haven't taken your eyes off them for quite some time now."

'_I just don't want Ryuki to get hurt again,_' Alex thought. She had grown to care about Ryuki, especially finding out how fragile his heart could be. When they'd met, his heart was still recovering from his forced breakup with Caitlin. The blonde had gotten far too involved in his secret life and had to have her memories erased for her own safety. However, she'd somehow regained her memories. What could this mean for Ryuki? Who would he choose?

Ryuki laughed at one of Caitlin's stories. He couldn't believe that his old friends had so many insane adventures at the Galleria Mall. Not to mention that Jonesy had trouble keeping a job again. Even Jonesy and Nikki had some ups and downs in their relationship. Despite all that, they were still together, which Ryuki was glad for.

Caitlin smiled happily. Now, Ryuki wanted to ask her questions, like for example, "How did you get your memories back?"

The blonde was silent for a moment as she considered her words. After all, regaining memories wasn't an instant experience unless someone like Ichijyo was involved.

Caitlin admitted, "Well, for a few weeks now I've been having these dreams about you." Ryuki blushed. To be in a girl's dreams was something else. A few girls in his old class would say lines like that to get his interest, but hearing spoken honestly was way different. "I had this feeling of longing when I had them like I was missing something. Like I lost something very precious to me."

"Oh."

"Then, I started to dream about our dates and the stuff we did with the gang. I asked them but none of them remembered you and thought I was dreaming up a guy. Jen gave me advice and said that I was dreaming about what I wanted as a perfect guy."

"I see." Ryuki blinked. "So, I'm the 'perfect guy' to you?" he asked skeptically.

"Well, you're cute, kind, sweet, humble, honest (Ryuki flinched), strong, brave, caring and you're really cool," Caitlin listed.

"And those qualities make me the perfect guy?" Ryuki asked further.

"Well, yeah!" Caitlin beamed.

Ryuki sighed, "I'm not as honest as you think. I kept secrets from you."

"Yeah! And what a secret! You're a superhero! That's really cool!" Caitlin spoke excitedly. Ryuki took inhaled air deeply. "So..." Caitlin leaned towards him, smiling. "I guess we should pick up where we left off, don't ya think?"

Alex watched, her heart starting to beat as she saw the scene that was about to unfold.

Caitlin closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss Ryuki but she was gently pushed back. Her eyes opened up in surprise at him. "What?"

Ryuki looked her in the eye, sadly, "Caitlin-san, I care a lot about you…but what we had is over…"

"Over?" Caitlin responded, eyes wide with shock. Was he breaking up with her?

"Caitlin-san…you're normal…" he began to explain to her, "That…that is why we can't be together."

"What's wrong with being normal?" she softly demanded.

"Because my life isn't and it's not a life you should get involved in," he elaborated, "You…you go to school and hang out with your friends in the Galleria Mall. I, however, do all that too, but in addition I also fight monsters, other evil Knights and occasionally the maniacal super villain."

"But-" she tried to protest.

"But nothing!" he interrupted, "You deserve someone better than me. Someone who doesn't make you worry about him all the time whenever he disappears in the middle of a date or ends up in the hospital with unexplained injuries. You deserve a life that isn't so crazy!"

"And you think my life isn't?"

"Compared to mine, no," Ryuki shook his head. "Gomen nasai…but I just cannot put you in that kind of situation…or put you in danger anymore."

"But you saved me," she reminded.

"But if you hadn't gotten to know me it wouldn't have happened," Ryuki said to her, remembering when she'd been kidnapped the first time with her friends and previously when she'd been kidnapped by Asakura. "As long as you are with me, you'll be in danger. It's safer that you just forget about me."

"I can't!" she cried. "I just can't forget you!"

"You have to," Ryuki said grimly. He threatened, "Or else I'll have to do it again…" He couldn't do it again. His heart had been in so much pain when he had done so before. It wasn't an option he was ready to choose again.

"Leo…" Caitlin begged. "Please…"

"And…" Ryuki stood up and glanced towards Alex, "I'm already with someone else."

"But…"

"I'm sorry," he apologized before he ran up the stairs and away from her, "It's over!"

Caitlin watched as he retreated up the stairs and began to sob. Alex began to feel sorry for Caitlin as did Emiko. Emiko handed the tray over to Alex and instructed her, "Take this and go talk to her." Alex blinked in surprise. "Right now she needs someone to talk to and I don't think she can talk to me without getting overly excited like she did in the car." Caitlin had just been incredibly excited about meeting a famous fashion designer like Emiko Narukawa Hasuma and hadn't stopped talking to her the entire trip back here.

"OK," Alex agreed reluctantly. She picked up the tray and walked over to Caitlin who was crying her eyes out. She set the tray down on the coffee table and sat down. "Are you okay?"

Caitlin looked up at Alex with her mascara running. "No!" she sobbed. "Leo just broke up with me!"

"Yeah, it's rough when a boy you like does that," Alex spoke from experience. "But there are other fish in the sea."

"But I want Leo!" Caitlin whined.

Alex sighed. If Sam and Clover were here they could help but she was alone in this. "Caitlin, listen. I know exactly how you feel."

"You…you do?" Caitlin asked. Alex nodded

"And I have to confess that…I'm the new girl in his life," Alex laughed nervously but froze when Caitlin glared at her coldly. "Um…want some tea?"

"You stole him from me!" Caitlin accused, pointing hatefully at Alex, hissing.

"Well, in my defense, you kinda forgot him," Alex pointed out. Caitlin managed to calm down a bit.

"I know, but I remember now." Caitlin wiped away her tears, "Why can't things go back to the way they are?"

"Because he wants to protect you," Alex answered. Caitlin listened as Alex told her, "Incase you haven't noticed, Leo still cares about you."

"He does?" Caitlin responded.

"He told me himself, and he regrets what he had to do."

"But why did he make me forget? Didn't he trust me? I can keep a secret."

"Yeah, but you have to look at things from his viewpoint. His job is to protect people. He can't do it if people know."

Caitlin looked towards Alex, surprised, "So, you know about his secret?"

"Well…"

"So what makes you so special?" Caitlin spat. Anger was boiling inside of her again. Why was this Alex allowed to remember the most wonderful guy in the world and she wasn't?

Alex sighed, "Because, I know the risks of this job. Believe it or not I'm a Spy for a secret organization that helps protects the world and people." Caitlin blinked. "I know. It sounds crazy."

"If I hadn't been through what I did just before and remembered what happened that time, I wouldn't have believed it either," Caitlin admitted.

"Well, think about it. He knows I can defend myself, but can you?" Alex said.

Caitlin looked downcast, "So I'm nothing but a burden to him then, is that what you're saying?"

"No of course not!" Alex denied. '_Sam would be so much better at this than I am right now._'

* * *

Ryuki punched his fist into the wall of his room, fighting back the tears that were trying to pour out of his eyes. Breaking the news to Caitlin like that had pulled at very fragile heartstrings that he originally hadn't been aware of. He'd been dumped before but it had on mutual terms. A relationship between him and Erika would never have worked out since they were both Zodiac Knights. Being friends was okay, but to be a couple would take a toll on them since they followed the destiny of Zodiac Knights. In the end there can be only one.

His spirit tenant and guardian, Yaminekoryu, manifested at his side, translucent like a ghost. He spoke in a ghostly voice, "_You did the right thing._"

"Did I?" Ryuki responded rhetorically. He remembered Ichijyo saying the same thing to him after he had erased his friends' memories. "I mean…this is the first time I ever broke up with anyone. It was the hardest thing I ever did. If I didn't have you, I would've broken down."

Yaminekoryu nodded, "_True, but she needed to be told. You've moved on and she has to as well. You both can't be going after things you can't have, especially a relationship under these circumstances. Like you said, she deserves a normal life_."

Ryuki laughed a bit at hearing that. "A normal life," he repeated. "I remember what it was like to have that. My life was relatively normal. Sure, I had an overprotective mother and bodyguards, but I doubt any kid my age had to fight monsters in a parallel world behind mirrors." He took out the Zodiac Deck from his pocket. "The day I made a contract with Dragonzer, I gave up on a normal life."

His ears then picked up the ringing sound that would reach the ears of Zodiac Knights and only Zodiac Knights. It was the call to battle. He spoke up, "Well, at least I can now take out my frustration on something." He approached his mirror and held out his Zodiac Deck at it, summoning his belt. Softly he commanded, "Henshin. Zodiac Force. Dragon." He snapped his belt to his deck and his armor appeared on his body. He slipped into the mirror and headed towards the Mirror World.

* * *

"So, why do you like him?" Caitlin asked Alex, wanting to know so much.

"Leo…he's special," Alex summarized. What could she say, really, about the Rider?

"I know," Caitlin agreed. "He's like one of those guys you find in fairy tales. He's like a prince or knight and he's just so modest about it."

"I know," Alex smiled but then a frown formed, "But, I feel like he's hiding something from me. It's like he doesn't trust me enough."

"Well, he did erase my memories," Caitlin pointed out, "Maybe he didn't trust me either."

"He just didn't want you hurt." Alex added, "You know why he hasn't removed his goggles all this time?"

"Now that you mention it, I did notice that he had them on the whole time," Caitlin said thoughtfully. She missed seeing his emerald green eyes.

"We had a mission. Some guy was using TV's to make people blind," Alex began the story, "We found the place and when we found the guy he used this ray gun that shot out a bright light. Leo pushed me out of the way and…he became blind." Caitlin gasped. "You're right when you say he's caring. He cares for other people so much that he forgets to care about himself," Alex finished sadly. "He's just so selfless to a fault that you can't help but love him so much and worry at the same time."

"So, if he became blind, how come he can see now?" Caitlin questioned.

"Well, his boss fixed most of the damage," Alex answered, "But he can't see anything clearly without those goggles." She giggled as she remembered the glasses he'd worn earlier. Caitlin was lost a bit, though.

"Oh, where's Tazuka?" Caitlin asked all of a sudden. "I mean, is he here? He's Ryuki's cousin after all."

Alex blinked in confusion. "Cousin? They're really close friends from what I know."

"But he told me that…" Caitlin began.

Emiko cut in to the conversation. "They were going on an undercover mission so Tazuka-kun posed as Ryu-chan's cousin." Emiko added, "Of course, they are more like brothers if you ask me."

"They have this really tight brotherly bond," Alex said as she remembered how the two interacted.

* * *

Using his Dragon Flame Cannon, Draco obliterated the fleeing monster. It had been a small fry, a weak monster with only speed at its disposal but once Draco could pinpoint its movements, it was easy to defeat it with the aid of both Brainstorm and Dragonzer.

"Just another small fry," Draco groaned in dissatisfaction and frustration. He had come to the Mirror World to take his frustration and stress out on some random monsters but all he got were these weaker ones that weren't worth his time. A few years ago they might've been a decent a challenge but he'd battle with stronger opponents like the Black Knight, especially King, and all those other Zodiac Knights. Fighting random mirror monsters just wasn't as challenging as it had been before.

His suddenly became alert and he spun around in time to see a monster, a humanoid and armored panther, pounce on him. He ended up pinned to the ground as it snarled in his faceplate. He kneed in the gut before using his other leg to throw the creature off. It got on all fours and growled.

"Stand down, Techno Panther," Draco heard. It was a female voice, a _familiar_ female voice. Standing up, he looked towards where the voice came from and saw a female Zodiac Knight clad in black and red stalking towards him.

"Copycat," Draco recognized. Zodiac Knight Copycat was one of the many Knights he and the others had fought against and with. Her agenda was unclear but it would appear that she enjoyed fighting, regardless of the identity of the opponent. Sometimes she wanted to kill them and then later on ended up helping them. She seemed to have an interest in Draco. He wasn't sure of her attentions but experience had taught him that it was never good.

"Hello, Dragon Knight," she said, hands on her hips. "So, you came to blow off some steam too?"

"I guess," Draco shrugged.

Copycat looked at her claws and buffed them against her chest armor. "Well, same here. There hasn't been anything to challenge me. Just really weak small fry."

"I know what you mean." Draco was surprised that he could have a decent and civil conversation with Copycat at times. "If you are looking for a challenge, you're too late. You just missed Scorpios."

"Damn," Copycat cursed. Her red eyepieces focused on Draco. "Well, I guess you'll do." She unwrapped her whip from her waist and then cracked it against the ground. "So…interested?"

Draco never fought with a lady. That was something his mother taught him. Of course…there were exceptions to the rule. "Hai." Draco got into a stance. "On three then?"

"On three."

"THREE!"

They then charged at one another, roaring.

* * *

Emiko walked to her son's room with a plate of cookies. He couldn't have anything with chocolate in them since it caused him to go extremely hyper. The condition was dubbed as "Cocoa-Craziness" since it was always accompanied by a streak of insanity. Not only was her son affected but her daughter too.

She wondered what was going on with her little Koneko-chan. She seemed very secretive recently. She'd begun noticing it after discovering her son's secret. It was like her daughter was another person entirely and hiding things from her. As a mother, she would do her best to find out and maybe help. She'd done it for her son so why not her daughter?

Caitlin and Alex were still talking, taking nibbles of the biscuits and sips of tea. The girls were talking about her son and it filled Emiko with pride. She was afraid that he wouldn't find a girlfriend and now two girls were vying for his attention.

Her father-in-law had suggested getting the boy engaged to a girl from a fine family while her mother was against such a notion. It was the 21st century and Emiko had to admit that such practices were old fashioned. Emiko was anything but old fashioned. When she remembered back when she would pursue her beloved best friend secretly, she sighed. He had been so oblivious to her advances but it was also so much fun to tease him. Eventually, he reciprocated the feelings and they officially became a couple. It surprised them that everyone else knew they had something special and had been betting on when they would eventually become an official couple. Kiruma Shimsuro, a friend of theirs who was a perverted and greedy moneymaker, won all the money.

She knocked on the door. "Ryuki-kun? Ryuki-kun?" she called. No answer. She then decided to use the nickname he hated after he'd grown out of it. However, Emiko still liked to tease him with it. "Ryu-chan? I got some snacks for you. It's your favorite fish-flavored cookies." The Hasuma family tree was one crazy one indeed. They were indiscriminate when it came to marriage. It didn't matter if they were gaijin or non-human at all. As long as they could add their power and skill to the clan, it was okay. Because of that, one of Ryuki's ancestors had fallen in love and married a Bakeneko, a beautiful cat demon. Since then, their descendants had displayed some cat-like behavior. When they had been four, her son and daughter would curl up on her lap and sleep like kittens. They would also purr and had an extreme liking to fish. It was a good thing they were wealthy so they could afford the best sushi for the two kids.

Her late husband had also displayed some cat-like tendencies. But that was another story for another time.

Hearing no answer, she turned the knob and opened the door. The room was empty save for the furniture and photos that hung from the wall. Where was her son? Her eyes wandered towards the mirror and she got her answer.

"Oh, Ryu-chan…" she sighed. "Why do you do such things to yourself?" As a mother, she was not one to allow her son to endanger himself, but this was his destiny. There was nothing she could do but support him. She did worry. What mother didn't? She just hoped he got out of the Mirror World unharmed.


	10. Sight Returns

Ryuki tumbled out of the mirror and hit the wall, knocking two of the photos off the wall. He caught them in his hands and looked upon them. It was a picture of him and Alex looking very happy. The other picture was of him and Caitlin, looking equally happy.

"What should I do?" Ryuki asked himself.

"Follow your heart," he heard and turned towards the door to see his mother leaning against the doorframe. His mother was trying to give him advice. "It must hurt to love two girls at once."

"Hai," Ryuki nodded in agreement. "But what can I do? No matter who I choose, someone is going to get hurt."

"It hurt you most of all when you had to erase Caitlin-chan's memory too, didn't it?" Emiko asked. "Why did you do it?"

"To protect her because she was precious to me," Ryuki confessed. "At the time she meant everything to me. It broke my heart but I think my heart would shatter if she got hurt because of me. I couldn't allow that to happen."

"How she must've felt when she got her memories back, to know a boy she loved just up and left without a word?" Emiko questioned.

"I know…" Ryuki nodded. "Do you think I made a mistake?"

Emiko shrugged. "I'm not a secret agent. For all I knew, you had to make a call. You made a choice to protect her and you thought you were doing the right thing."

"The right thing? Or was I being selfish?" Ryuki asked.

"Who knows, but you must make a choice, Ryu-chan," said Emiko. "You can't have both of them."

"I know. I'll try to think of a solution," said Ryuki.

* * *

"We've searched this place already," huffed Clover. "Face it, there aren't any clues."

Ichijyo, of course, disagreed, and scanned the factory. As far as he knew there were more clues to be found. The Spies and Riders just never found them before because of what'd happened to Ryuki. "Things can be overlooked." He knelt down and touched the floor. "Interesting…"

"What?" asked Sam and she stepped back in shock when she saw his eyes glow but she shouldn't be too surprised since all the Riders had special abilities.

"Tazuka, I need your ability right here," ordered Ichijyo. Tazuka nodded and removed his glove. "Touch this spot right here." Ichijyo stepped back to allow the fortuneteller to do his work. Tazuka's eyes glowed as soon as his palm touched the spot and he pulled his hand back immediately. "Secret entrance?"

"Secret entrance," confirmed Tazuka. "But I'm not sure how it's supposed to open."

"Who says anything about opening it?" smirked Ichijyo. He held out his hands, "Hold hands and close your eyes. I sure hope you didn't have a big meal before this."

"Should we be worried?" Sam asked Britney.

"If I know my cousin all we need to do is just do as he says," said Britney. They all held hands and stood at the spot.

"Here we go," said Ichijyo as his powers activated and they phased through the floor. Once they'd been phased completely through, they found themselves in a metal tunnel. This just brought back bad memories for Clover and Sam. The last mission that involved a steel tunnel had the Riders nearly crushed between walls.

"Wait," said Takada warily. "There might be booby traps."

"Yes, I agree, which is why you're going first," said Ichijyo, volunteering Takada.

"Hey, why me!?" Takada snapped.

"You're the only one here who's invulnerable," Ichijyo pointed out logically.

"Oh, right," Takada snapped his fingers. Clover kissed his cheek.

"Be careful," she said.

"I'm always careful," said Takada confidently, which made Ichijyo roll his eyes. He was about to step forward when he stopped. "Hey, wait a minute." He spun around to glare at Ichijyo.

"What is it, mongrel?" questioned Ichijyo.

"I'm not going to do this. I mean you always use me as a human shield or make me trip all the booby traps. Well, no more!" Takada answered.

"You don't have much of a choice," Ichijyo said.

"Oh, yes I do!" Takada shot back.

"Um…no," Ichijyo said before waving his hand. Takada floated off the floor.

"Oh, crud," grumbled Takada before he was thrown down the tunnel. Suddenly, the booby traps were set off. The girls winced as Takada was blasted, shot, stabbed and burnt. When Takada reached the end, he shouted, "I'm okay! All traps have been set off!"

"At least he's being useful," Ichijyo murmured, "For once." He turned to look at Tazuka and the Spies. "Let's go. It's safe."

"You just used him!" Clover accused.

"He had a high chance of survival anyway," Ichijyo shrugged. "Now, let's go. We can't finish this mission just standing here." He strode forward. They followed.

"Jerk," muttered Sam.

"Oh, he's not all bad," said Britney in Ichijyo's defence.

"Name one time he's been nice," Sam said.

"Er…" Britney wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't all that close to Ichijyo and knew little about his life. She was from his mom's side of the family.

* * *

Ryuki walked back downstairs to see Alex and Caitlin talking. He'd been horrible to her. He did care and maybe a part of him still held strong feelings for her. However, he made a new commitment with Alex.

He erased Caitlin's memories for a reason. She was a normal girl, with normal friends, a normal job, and a normal life. Being with him would just take her from that nice and normal world and put her in danger. She deserved the peace of normalcy. He didn't want her to think anything weird was going on. He just wanted to be safe.

Alex was a different story. She was a girl of action. She was also cute and athletic. Unlike Caitlin, Alex's life was filled with danger. In her missions she faced super-villains and fought their henchmen. She was no stranger to danger.

Both girls were attractive in their own way. Maybe he was attracted to Caitlin because he wanted to have a normal life again. He wanted to just hang out with friends and not worry about fighting to save the world. With Alex, on the other hand, he didn't need to hide his secrets. She herself led a double-life. They had so much in common too.

Breaking up with Cailtin like that had been harsh. He had to let her down gently. He took a deep breath and walked over to them. It was the right thing to do. He needed to let Caitlin go. She would understand.

"Ano…Caitlin-chan," began Ryuki.

"I'll leave you two alone," said Alex. She rose up from the couch and walked past Ryuki. He then sat down next to Caitlin.

"So, are you alright?" he asked.

"A little," said Caitlin. "Alex and I talked a little."

"I see."

"Leo, did you love me?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," he told her, sadly. "And I never stopped loving you."

"Then Alex is lucky to have you," said Caitlin.

"Caitlin-chan…" He saw the tears in her eyes. She wiped them away.

"I just don't know if I can ever get over you. You're amazing. You're not like any guy I ever met. Not because of your powers or your job, but because you're…nice," she told him. "Most guys break up with me for some silly little thing or vice versa, but you never found a fault in me and I never found anything wrong with you. When you showed me your powers, I thought you were amazing." She closed her eyes and continued, "I just wished things could be different. I want the good times we had in the Galleria Mall to come back."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. She then hugged him close. "Caitlin?"

"I just wish for you to be happy," said Caitlin.

He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. "I hope you find happiness too."

Alex watched the embrace, feeling a little jealous, but calmed down. Ryuki was just letting go of an old girlfriend. Nothing was going to happen between them.

* * *

The Operatives and Spies reached the end of the tunnel to find a sealed door. Ichijyo rolled his eyes and said, "As if this could stop us. I could just phase us right through."

"Oh, no you don't," said Takada in protest.

"What not, mutt?" Ichijyo scowled.

"I think it's my time to shine," said Takada. "I'll crack this door open with my gadgets."

"Or we can just use the combination," said Tazuka, pointing to a numeric keypad. He removed his glove and touched it. His eyes glowed briefly before he smiled. "I got it." He then started to key in the access code.

**632778**

**Access Granted**

The door slid open and Takada grumbled, "Damn powers."

Sam smiled. Tazuka was amazing.

"OK, let's go in," said Ichijyo.

When they entered, what they found was a lab and several TV's all lying about. Some had been taken apart and others looked like they were in the middle of being put together. What intrigued Takada were the parts that were being put into them.

"OK," said Takada as he picked up an odd device, "This so does not belong in a TV."

"How can you tell?" asked Clover.

"Because he took mine apart," answered Ichijyo, frowning.

"Hey, I put it back together, right?" Takada said.

"OK, we've found the bad guy's lair, so where's the bad guy?" asked Britney.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ichijyo saw a dark figure running off. "Not this time!" He threw his arm forward and his shadow extended before bursting out in the form of a hand. It wrapped around the runner. He struggled in the shadow hand's iron grip before being pulled into the light. The man was clad from head to toe in black with a pair of goggles covering his eyes.

"Let me go! Let me go, damn you!" the figure shouted.

"No way!" said Tazuka sternly. "You've been making people go blind. We want you to tell us how to reverse it."

Suddenly, the man's goggles released a blinding flash. Ichijyo had to shield his eyes but his concentration was broken. The man got free and took off.

"You will never stop me!" the villain cried. "The world must pay!"

"Pay for what?" Sam demanded.

"For being able to see!" The man was obviously deranged. He whipped off his goggles to reveal he had pure white eyes. He had no irises or irises. They were just white orbs.

"OK, that is creepy," said Clover.

"You dare insult me!?" the blind villain cried. "That is why everyone must pay! They must all suffer living in the dark!"

Of course something wasn't adding up. "OK, you're blind, so how were you able to set all this up?" asked Takada.

"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm helpless! For years I have trained myself to use my other senses to compensate! I do not need sight! Of course, before that I was helpless! I was laughed at, made fun off by cruel people with sight! I was treated like a freak! Do you know what that's like?"

Ichijyo, Takada and Tazuka knew that very well.

"So, just because some people made fun of your blindness you think you can just make other people blind?" questioned Sam.

"Of course! It's the perfect punishment for those ignorant fools! Let them walk in a blind man's shoes and see how they like it," the villain said.

"Well we won't let you get away with it!" Sam frowned. "Get him girls!"

The three Spies took the attack to the blind villain. However, as they tried striking him, they just kept missing as he bent out of the way. Every strike missed him completely. Finally, he went on the attack by using effective moves to send all of the girls flying with just a few well-timed kicks. They all landed with thuds and groans.

"Not bad," Takada blinked.

"I told you!" the Blind Man laughed. "I don't need sight! I can sense you all coming a mile away! I'm untouchable!"

"So you say," A voice from behind spoke.

"Huh?" the Blind Man grunted as he turned…

KRACK!!

And went down like a ton of bricks. Ichijyo finished materializing out of a shadow behind the villain. He just sighed. This was a waste of time. This man, despite his skill and training, was still a normal human. He said, "I'll handle this."

"What are you going to do?" asked Britney. She and the other girls were groggily getting back onto their feet.

Ichijyo's grin turned evil as he focused his eyes on the blind villain. "Nothing much…" The girls gasped as Genosnaker slithered out of a TV screen. The massive cobra hissed as it gazed around. "There, take him." Genosnaker slithered towards the unconscious Blind Man and grabbed him in its jaws before slithering back into the screen. "I'll see you all later." He then teleported away.

* * *

Alex continued to watch the scene when her X-Powder beeped. She picked it up and flipped it open. "Alex here."

"Alex, great news! Quick, come to WOOHP!" said Jeremy.

* * *

At WOOHP, Ryuki removed the machine that was on his head, opened his eyes and smiled. "I can see!" He gazed at Alex's face and she smiled when she saw his emerald eyes back to normal. On impulse she hugged him, happy to see those emerald orbs of his.

"Oh, than goodness!" said Emiko, relieved.

Tazuka reported, "We were able to find the villain and swipe his devices."

"Then all we had to do was reverse its effects," added Takada who was holding the weapon used to blind Ryuki. "It was no sweat for me."

"The cure is also being used on all the victims," added Jerry. "Well done." He then asked, "By any chance do you know where Ichijyo is?"

"Well, after he knocked out the baddie, he just took off," said Takada.

"I think its best we don't know what he's doing," advised Tazuka.

* * *

Ichijyo was standing in front of a cell as the blind villain was tied to a chair, screaming.

"You wanted to see so much, right? Well, take a long hard look," said Ichijyo cruelly.

"MAKE IT STOP!!! MAKE IT STOP!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYMORE!!! NO!!!"

Ichijyo walked off, smiling to himself. The villain got his sight back, but now could only see endless pain and suffering. It was what he deserved.

* * *

It was several days later. All the blind victims had been cured. Caitlin and Ryuki managed to clear some things up about their relationship. They weren't together anymore and would remain as friends. They did promise to write to each other. Alex was happy about that.

"You want me…to sing?" Ryuki questioned, wondering if he was hearing things right.

"We just got a gig at this nightclub," replied Takada. "The Snake arranged for it."

"You did?" Ryuki wondered.

"Well, of course I did," said Ichijyo with a shrug. "I cut them a deal." He was a genius when it came to business. No wonder he was the CEO of their home's branch of Smart Brain. "And I think this song would be perfect." Ichijyo reached into his coat and pulled out a sheet of paper with the lyrics on it. Ryuki took it and scanned it.

Ryuki blinked. "Hey, isn't this the one about…"

"I thought it'd be perfect," said Ichijyo.

"But…I'm usually on drums," blinked Ryuki. He'd never sung in public before except among friends and only when they went for Karaoke. "I can't…"

"Ryuki-kun, you have a great singing voice," said Tazuka with an encouraging smile.

Ryuki still wasn't so sure. Did he really have a great voice? His mother was a great singer and had won many competitions with her choir back in her school days. He didn't think he had inherited her talent in singing but the others felt he did. "If you're sure…"

"Well, let's rehearse first," said Takada as he picked up his bass guitar. Ichijyo picked up his electric guitar and plugged it in. Tazuka was already standing behind his keyboard.

Ryuki picked up the microphone and said, uncertainly, "Let's do this then…"

* * *

The Spies were dressed their best and standing in front of the club, which was dubbed "Club Moebius". It looked like a good place for some fun.

"Are you sure this is the place, Clover?" Sam asked.

"Of course it is," replied the blonde. "This is the address and it's in Shibuya."

The girls had asked Jerry to send them to Shibuya where the Riders were currently.

"Well, let's go in," said Alex as she pushed the doors open and entered.

"Hey, wait for me!" called Britney as she went in after. Sam and Clover shrugged before they too went in.

There were a lot of teens in there, listening to the band play, enjoying the music and dancing to it. Alex felt like dancing too but she was trying to spot the guys. As soon as the band finished up their song, the manager came up on stage giving a few words. The girls turned on their translators and listened in.

"And we have another band called "The Knights"!" the manager announced. Knights? He walked off stage and The Knights came up.

"Ryuki!?" Alex yelled, seeing Ryuki on stage dressed in a black leather jacket, red t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Takada!?" Clover yelled out as she saw him in a blue denim jacket with a black shirt underneath and blue jeans, holding a bass guitar.

"Cousin Ichijyo!?" Britney yelled out as she saw her cousin come up stage in his usual all black ensemble. He had on a matching black turtleneck shirt with black slacks and had his coat on too. In his hands was an electric guitar.

"Tazuka!?" Sam yelled out as she saw him dressed in a three-piece suit but minus the tie to look more casual. He stood behind a keyboard.

"Alright, hit it!" Ichijyo shouted and they started to play. Unfortunately, Ryuki was feeling nervous. He was more used to playing the drums than singing in front of a crowd and he was starting to feel some stage fright as he froze. The crowd started to boo and jeer them as Ichijyo, Takada and Tazuka continued to play, waiting for him.

"Why isn't he singing?" Clover asked. "He's just, like, standing there…"

"He must have stage fright. Poor guy," Sam frowned. He could fight monsters and evil Knights without flinching but being on stage scared him.

Alex looked towards Ryuki and shouted, "YOU CAN DO IT, LEO!!!"

Ryuki heard her voice over the yells of the crowd and saw her. '_Alex-chan_…_she believes in me…like the others._' He then heard his spirit partner's voice.

'_Oi, aibou, let's give these kids a show they'll never forget!_' said Yaminekoryu.

Ryuki nodded, not wanting to let his friends down, and grabbed the microphone before he started to sing…

And well the girls were shocked. He was GOOD! Better than good! There was just no way to describe it! The crowd turned from upset to enjoying the music, now cheering on the band instead of jeering them as Ryuki gave the best performance of his life. Ichijyo, Takada and Tazuka all smiled at their friend who was feeling confident again.

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: And that's the end of Blind Sided! Sorry it took so long. I had writer's block.


End file.
